New Friends, Old Places
by SilverStarSheep
Summary: Chloe Sullivan never expected to find solace in the busy 'city of Angels' with a vampire, an ex-cheerleader, and a former rogue demon hunter. (Full Summary inside.) 'Angel' crossover with 'Smallville'.
1. Prologue

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Summary:** Chloe Sullivan (Smallville) never expected to find solace in the busy 'city of Angels' with a vampire, an ex-cheerleader, and a former watcher/rogue demon hunter. But when a chain of unexplained murders begin happening around Smallville that none of its residents can stop will Chloe be able to put aside her unabashed feelings of betrayal long enough to help the 'fang gang' solve the case?

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** If I really owned Smallville or Angel do you really think that this would be the last season of... A-An-g-gel? (sobs) I promised myself I wouldn't do this. (sniff sniff) I'm okay... just... j-j-just read the story.

**Author's Note:** This is a crossover with Smallville and Angel. I know, I know... pretty weird crossover, but it's gonna rock! I promise. You guys wanted to know what happened to Chloe after 'Trouble in Paradise' (my Smallville fic), well, here ya go! You don't have to read the other two stories to figure out what's going on. It's pretty self-explanatory. So you're not going to be utterly confused if you read this fic without reading the other two.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts are in _italics_.

* * *

**Prologue**

"These cheese pretzels are great, huh?" Ashley Howard said, before carefully taking another bite of her pretzel.

She had been desperately trying to comfort her friend Mandy Evans ever since the party a Crater Lake had begun. After a lot of questioning and guessing, she had finally gotten the girl to confide in her and it wasn't going so well. Mandy had done nothing but bawl, and occasionally nod her head at Ashley's questions, other than that she wouldn't respond at all.

Ashley couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the girl. She had been the one who suggested that they go to the lake party, something, anything to get Mandy's mind off of Chad. It was just like that jerk to break up with a girl right before summer break; he was a pretty obnoxious flirt ninety-five percent of the time. In the five classes that she had with him at Metropolis University she couldn't remember one time where he actually managed to stop flirting long enough to focus on his studies. She thought that with everyone commuting back to Smallville for the summer break that Mandy would forget about Chad.

But now she was horribly regretting her decision. Seeing everyone dancing with their significant others and having fun was a little too much for Mandy.

_Some friend you are._ She thought.

Ashley slowly got up from where she was sitting at the edge of the lake. "Look, I'm going to go get some more of these things. You coming with?"

Mandy, staring almost in an entranced like state at the ripples in the water, shook her head sadly.

"Are you sure?"

Again, another pitiful head throb from Mandy.

Ashley really hated seeing her friend like this; she just looked so weak, so pathetic.

"Okay," Ashley sighed, "I'll be right back."

Mandy simply nodded again, not bothering to watch her friend leave.

"H-how could... how could he do t-this to me?" She spat through her teeth, her voice no more than a whisper. "W-what... did I do to deserve this?"

Her voice was breaking but she didn't care, and she doubted that the void of darkness did either.

She rested her chin on her knees, and closed her eyes. Something about the calmness of the water was relaxing. The way it rippled, and bubbled.

_Bubbled? _Peeping over the edge of the pier, her large dark eyes scanned the surface of the water. _Why is the water bubbling? It's almost as if there's something- _

Mandy barely had enough time to scream as she felt the monkey creature's hand-like tail grasp around her throat. It had literally appeared out of nowhere. Her arms and legs kicked and flailed as it continued pulling her towards the murky water. Mandy could feel its grip tighten on her throat as her body plunged into the unusually warm water.

Even underwater she could see the creature's toothy wicked grin before everything faded to black.

* * *

_Just my luck._ Ashley huffed, walking quickly over to the spot where she had left Mandy. _Outta__ pretzels._

"Sorry it took me so long... there are **ZERO** cheese pretzels left! Can you-?" Ashley halted mid stride, when she realized that Mandy wasn't where she left her.

_Don't panic... she probably went back to the party. Yeah, that's it... party. _Ashley hastily turned and ran back to the main event, oblivious to the water's scarlet tint.

* * *


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer: **See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** The first chapter! Should I continue? Tell me what you think.

Thoughts are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Chloe Sullivan tapped away animatedly at the computer keys. She had been on the phone with a client for hours. It would have been so much easier if they could have just met face to face, but for some reason they didn't want to. Probably one of the more tall, dark and scaly clients.

"Ah... huh... okay... that's fine." Chloe paused to pick up a wayward pen and pencil, "And your name was? Okay, we'll call you as soon as we can. All right... and you sir, goodbye."

Chloe brushed fallen tendrils of light blond hair in place behind her ear as she place the phone on the base. She yawned and stretched warily. It had been the longest week of her life. Not that she didn't love her current job, working for Angel was a blast. Really it was. She meant that from the depths of her heart, no sarcasm there. It was just that for some reason or another the phone was ringing off the hook this week. Cordelia was taking a much-needed break at the moment, Wesley was stuck researching, and Angel, well, Angel hadn't exactly been himself lately. So Chloe being the kind natured person that she was, for went the overrated college scene just so her friends could get as much needed help as possible.

Ultimately her free time and sleep was cut in more than half, but it was a small price to pay for the work to get done. And it was summer vacation so she didn't mind too much.

_Some small price._ Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose. She had thought that being in her last year college would be the "best year of her life". Not that it wasn't, it was just a lot more hectic than she imagined it to be. Ever since she had met Angel and started working for Angel Investigation a year ago, everything had been a little more than 'weird'.

She was doing the one thing, or more like two things that she knew best and loved with a passion. And if you could find a job that involved investigating, helping the helpless, and your out of the ordinary wall of weird material, why shouldn't you take it?

In just the year that Chloe had been working here she had seen and fought enough demons and other supernaturals to write a book, not that she wasn't use to this type of thing. But if you had asked her if she believed in vampires any other time up until the last two years she knew that she probably would have laughed and asked if you were sane.

Smallville had mutants, meteor freaks, and the occasional psychotic doctor, or scientist but it was almost like the eye of the storm compared to L.A.

Chloe stirred the coffee stirrer in the Columbian blend as her eyes darted across the online article, soaking in its contents.

_'Mass Murders continue in Kansas'..._ (_That's odd...) body of a young girl found in Crater lake... victim is said to be missing eyes, teeth, and nails..._ She cringed inwardly as she continued to read. _Small puncture wounds on the neck... pieces of the flesh ripped away... unexplained murder adding to the 16 victims that have been found with similar descriptions in Crater Lake..._

Frowning Chloe swished the coffee around in the blue ceramic mug; she hoped that her dad was okay. She made a mental note to give him a call later. Trying to focus on something other than the descriptions of the mangled and mauled bodies she tried remembering the first time she had met the 'fang gang'. Or more like the first time she had met Angel.

Walking home from her friend's apartment, attacked by a vampire; it was the usual for the 'city of Angels'. It was the first time she had actually seen one of the creatures of darkness, and was shocked beyond belief. The vampire would have killed her if her knight in shining black leather hadn't shown up at that precise moment.

He had vanquished her attacker, took her back to the converted Hyperion hotel so her various injuries could be patched up, and waited until she had regained consciousness (like a day later). Really chivalrous. She spent most of the day talking with him and his comrades, and was more than intrigued when she "accidentally" walked in on them discussing some ancient prophecy. Being the very observant reporter that she was, Chloe had put two and two together and figured out that Angel was a vampire. That, and the whole 'no reflection, no footsteps thing', that took a little getting used to...

Anyway, they were a little surprised when she didn't faint, scream, or accuse. Years of living in Smallville, it worked wonders. They had actually become pretty good acquaintances and once her crappy job at the local java house fired her she got a job here. The rest was well, history. She just wished that all of the blood suckers had souls. It would make their job a lot less stressful, but then again, it probably wouldn't be all that great for the animal population and then there's the whole bored factor.

Chloe downed her coffee in one big gulp, making a face. "Oh wow... that's ummm interesting." She said to no one in particular.

She was halfway across the room to the 'kitchen' and the trashcan when the loud sputtering of coffee caught her attention.

Her head whipped around, her eyes displaying a veil of uncertainty. A small smile spread across her face.

"Well, guess sleeping beauty decided to join us in the land of the living. Sleep well?"

"Very funny." Angel glared at the smiling blond before staring at the contents of the ceramic mug, "You didn't make the coffee did you?"

Chloe shook her head vibrantly, "Nope, I don't make the coffee. I just drink it."

Hearing the loud automated 'bleeeeep' of the microwave, Chloe spun around and viciously opened the microwave. Failing to notice Angel as he dumped the remaining unholy dark brew down the sink, and started to make a fresh pot of coffee.

"But some of us actually have a choice in the matter, not that there's actually anything pretty yummy about blood. No offense." She said as she set the steaming hot mug on a coaster on the oak table.

"You'd be surprised, I get that a lot." A puzzled expression swept across his face as he stared at the mug.

"Figured you'd be up soon."

He gave her one of his trademark half smiles, if it could even be called a smile. The vampire never actually smiled except on those rare occasions, like when something was extremely hilarious. Chloe couldn't help but feel sorry for the vamp. In a way he sort of reminded her of Clark Kent, with all of his harbored secrets, brooding, and of course there was the whole guilt trip. If Clark suddenly took up a love for dark colored fabrics, leather, and had an immense fear of the sun they could be twins, somewhat.

Clark, Lana, Pete. She wasn't as close to them as she was in high school. Well, correction, she and Pete were still the best of buds; she just wasn't close to Clark or Lana.

It hurt remembering all those times when she was the last to find out anything, because they didn't trust her. It hurt when she had to find out that Clark was dating Lana. That he was even dating Lana. That she had finally gotten the nerve to tell him, tell him how she truly felt and the one and only name that he called out in his state of being delirious was Lana. That he couldn't forgive her for prying into his past when he had done the same thing to her and she forgave him again and again.

She still couldn't help but feel hurt and belittled somehow, like she was annoying little Chloe, the girl who had the knack for all things weird, who always ended up getting her friends hurt because she couldn't resist dragging them along for the ride, the girl who was always getting in everyone's way.

But being here, in L.A., she just felt like she belonged. No one here thought she was odd for being vastly interested in demons, the unexplained, or strange happenings.

"Thanks."

Chloe simply grinned back.

"Oh yeah, new client, a Josh Morgan. " She ran a hand through her hair, "He-"

The sound of raised voices alerted their attention to the other room.

"Not again..." Angel seemed to voice what she was thinking. Cordelia and Wesley couldn't go one day without trying to kill each other.

Secretly Chloe loved hearing them argue, it was kind of funny. Entertaining even. It would be a frosty day in hell before those two ever stopped fighting.

Before Chloe could even realize what had happened, Angel was gone and an "Okay, break it up kiddies." could be heard in the next room.

Even through the door she could hear Cordelia's voice, "Angel, please tell Wesley, Mr. khaki shirt with khaki pants, that wearing a khaki shirt with khaki pants is generally a no fashion rule. I mean, where's the versatility. The mix of colors the-... oh... scratch that..."

And Wesley's, "And what is wrong with it exactly?"

Chloe's smirk grew wider as she heard Cordelia's distinguished 'huff' and then, "We've been over this."

"Ummm..." Angel frowned, unsure of what would be the right answer in a situation like this, was there a right answer? And what did Cordelia mean by 'scratch that'? "What's wrong with it?" It was more of a statement than a question but it would do.

Chloe picked that particular moment to bound into the room, literally, and Angel could only guess that she was on caffeine high. He was sure that he had dumped the rest of the coffee that Cordelia had made down the drain, he just didn't understand, where was she getting it?

"The murders in Kansas," at everyone's puzzled expression Chloe added, "On the news, it isn't some kind of psychotic serial killer, or rabid animal."

Holding up the printed article and the pictures that entailed, she started to continue rambling, started to. "Unless it's a..."

"Crazed demon who enjoys torturing their victims? See..." Cordelia interrupted Chloe mid rant to throw Wesley a 'told ya so' look.

"Uhhh... that's what you two were arguing over?" Chloe raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She thought that she would have been used to this by now.

"Sorry... what?" The look of utter confusion on Angel's face was priceless.

"The murder victims in Kansas, police are still unsure as to who or what is causing the murders." Wesley glared at Cordelia, "But they do know that who or whatever it is gorges out the victim's eyes, removes the teeth and nails and then kills them."

"Ummm... that's right..." it was Chloe's turn to look baffled, "What he said."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Angel flopped down on the couch in the lobby.

"Sure sleep is important and everything, what better way to get rid of those horrible circles underneath your eyes, but you tend to miss a lot when you sleep for most of the day!" Cordelia retorted.

Chloe and Wesley waited for the comeback from Angel, that was sure to follow Cordelia's comment, but it never came.

They all targeted their gaze on Angel who was sitting, or more like sleeping peacefully on the couch.

"God! This is getting ridiculous!" Cordelia threw up her hand in a defeated gesture.

Chloe smirked almost involuntarily, as she lightly tapped Angel on the shoulder.

He awoke with a start, jumping from the couch wildly.

"What? What? I'm awake, definitely didn't doze off... so what about Ireland and pitchforks?"

Needless to say Wesley, Chloe, and Cordelia couldn't help but stare at him perplexingly.

After the initial confusion shrouded off, about five seconds later, Chloe couldn't help but roll her eyes, "You know, maybe it would be better if you just went back to sleep."

Cordelia walked off, muttering something along the lines of "Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. He's only been up for two hours and already wants to go back to sleep. And how do you get Ireland and pitchforks out of Kansas and serial killers?"

Wesley shook his head and went back to the books on the table in the next room.

"What?" Everyone else had left the room, leaving Angel by himself in the lobby, "What?!"

Just another typical day at Angel Investigations.

* * *


	3. Chapter 2

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Chapter 2! Sorry it took me forever to update... homework, projects, and reports... when will they learn? Sorry if this chapter's sorta boring, there's not that much happening. The next one is going to be loaded with good stuff. We swears, we swears, on… on… the PRECIOUS! Hehe. Couldn't help myself.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Just like old times..." Lana Lang said, climbing the first few steps to the Kent residence.

Mr. and Ms. Kent had invited her, Pete, and Clark, of course, over for a little welcoming home dinner. So far nothing had changed too much except for the unexplained drowning victims, which Clark planned on investigating as soon as he got the chance.

If Chloe had been with them in Smallville she would have made it her first priority to check out Crater Lake. With Chloe away at school in Los Angeles, the tendency to go out and do field work for any strange phenomenon was slim to none. Clark still did the hero, 'saving the town from the occasional Kryptonite mutants' thing, but there wasn't a lot of research just for the 'fun of it' like Chloe had done so often in the past.

As the trio entered the cool farmhouse, the heavenly scent of baking desert wafted past their nostrils. The smell was almost taunting, especially since dinner wasn't until another thirty minutes. Clark could hear his mother's voice in the next room, even without using his 'super hearing'. It sounded like she was on the phone with someone, he wasn't sure who though.

Martha Kent waved to the three friends as she took a freshly baked apple pie out of the oven. "Oh, everyone's fine. As a matter of fact; Lana, Pete, and Clark are here right now..."

At the mention of their names; Lana, Clark, and Pete all looked at Ms. Kent questionably.

"That was very sweet of you. So how are things in Los Angeles?"

Chloe. It was definitely Chloe. Unless Clark knew someone else who was living in L.A. She was probably calling about the chain of events. The serial killer like murders were all over the news.

"Well, Clark's right here. Do you want to-? I'm sure he'll understand. Okay... you too Chloe. Bye."

Placing the phone gently back on the receiver, Ms. Kent smiled and hugged each of the three returning college students standing in the farmhouse kitchen.

"That was Chloe. She had to go, so I'm guessing she'll call you guys later?" Taking a knife from the wooden dish rack, she carefully began cutting the cooled apple pie.

All three nodded almost simultaneously, not wishing to discuss the 'oh too gory' details that was friendship with Chloe.

Chloe didn't seem too eager to talk to them any time soon... well, not at all. It had been almost a year since Clark and Lana had an actual conversation with the Metropolis native, not including the 'Hi's and 'Oh... ummm... is my dad there?'s that they got from Chloe. She even went to great lengths when she was in Smallville to avoid them. Well, not Pete. No. Chloe was still best friends with Pete Ross.

Pete, always the loyal friend, would tell them that it was no one's fault. That Chloe needed her space, or that she was too preoccupied with her life in L.A. Secretly they knew that Chloe wasn't 'too preoccupied', or 'just needed her space'. She would frequently email, write, or call Pete almost weekly.

"So mom, everything okay?" Clark said, going over to the fridge, opening it he retrieved three sodas.

"Fine. Chloe just asked the same thing. She seems to be enjoying L.A." Ms. Kent began setting the porcelain plates on the table.

Pete grinned almost mechanically, "You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl."

"Where have we heard that one before?" Lana said, rolling her eyes as Clark threw one of the three sodas to Pete. _Guys... _

"Clark?" The tone in Ms. Kent's voice was warning. He was in his last year of college, yet he was still like that mischievous six-year-old boy who would be covered from head to toe in mud from an afternoon of hunting for worms.

"I really can't catch." Lana shook her head slowly for emphasis.

Smiling, Clark handed Lana a Pepsi, "Lana Lang can't catch?"

Lana nodded sluggishly, feigning sadness. "Sadly, no."

Smirking Pete added, "And just when we thought there was nothing that the infamous Lana Lang couldn't do."

"Okay guys, enough teasing." Lana said as she opened her Pepsi can, sipping from it.

Ms. Kent laughed slightly, "Dinner should be ready shortly. Clark, I think that your father's outside in the barn. Could you tell him dinner's almost ready?"

Ms. Kent couldn't help but smile as the door swung shut and the trio's eccentrically loud laughter somehow seemed to light up the summer air.

* * *

Saying her goodbyes to Ms. Kent, Chloe 'slammed' the phone down urgently. The last person she wanted to, needed to talk to, was Clark. Sure, to the average onlooker her reasons for not speaking to Clark and Lana would seem senile, and maybe a bit foolish. And maybe it would be a lot more profitable if she actually told Clark and Lana why she chose not to speak with them. (Staying in a hotel every time she decided to visit Smallville wasn't exactly what one would call 'inexpensive'.) But she didn't want to be bombarded with redundant excuses, or apologies of sympathy. 

After numerous attempts to get both parties to "discuss their differences", even Pete had thrown in the towel. Or so it seemed, but Chloe knew Pete, and he wasn't one to just quit. Pete was a good friend though, probably her best friend, she just wished that he wouldn't try so hard to shove them towards friendship again. It got really irritating, especially since during the three or four times that she voluntarily returned to Smallville, Clark had 'coincidentally' shown up at her house, waiting for her. Even she knew that the excuses only worked to some extent. She had heard too many in her twenty years of life to know when they were nothing more than a facade, a wall for the truth to hide behind. She had known too well.

And Lana, it was even harder to avoid Lana, seeing how she still roomed at the Sullivan residence during breaks and vacations. Hence, more excuses, but Pete's siblings and parents didn't seem too upset at the moping blond that could frequently be found playing video games, reading, eating, or researching in their home.

Why wouldn't they just let her brood in peace?

_Brood?__ Definitely been hanging around this place too long..._ Chloe spun around in the computer chair, waiting for the page to load.

Two seconds later Cordelia came into the makeshift office, ransacking through the oak cabinets. And judging from the way she was throwing random objects this way and that, it was pretty clear that she was looking for something.

"Need help finding something?" Chloe glanced over at the computer screen before turning her head to find Cordelia still pillaging through the cabinets.

"Coffee filters." Cordelia said, continuing her blind rummaging, "I swear, we run through them like a baby runs through pampers."

"Ummm..." Rising from her seat at the computer, Chloe looked in a few other cabinets above her desk. No coffee filters equaled no coffee, no coffee meant that everyone would become vicious, demented, warmongering... you get the picture, basically, not a pretty sight.

"Don't think we have any, but I may have some..." Chloe grasped her brown messenger bag, hunting through it rather savagely.

"You actually keep coffee filters with **YOU**?" Cordelia couldn't help but stare blankly at the girl's bizarre habits.

"Yep... emergencies." Finally finding the accursed filters, Chloe handed them to Cordelia, "This office isn't exactly what you would call sane when the coffee supply is low."

"Amen to that." Cordelia nodded before adding, "Is it just me or has Angel been really weird during the past couple of weeks... I mean, weirder than usual... weirder than usual for him, anyway."

"Yeah." Chloe responded a little more than absentmindedly. She hadn't really noticed it before, but it was true. Ever since they had found out that he hadn't been sleeping well, he had been acting "weirder than usual" as Cordelia had put it. But now that she did notice it, it worried her, just a little bit. "I thought that maybe it was a nocturnal thing. It makes since. He's a vampire, they can't exactly go anywhere during the day without spontaneously combusting... could be some kind of a vampire instinct. Sleep during the day, but then again…"

"Hey, maybe once they reach a certain age they get all weird and sleepy. Oh God, you don't think this is a forever thing..." Cordelia paced rapidly, her eyes a mirror of impending dread. "Because I don't know how much more of this excessive sleeping gig I can take."

"Or a phase!" Chloe chimed, trying to ease her pacing friend's nerves. And who could blame her, things would start to get pretty boring with SleepyTime Angel, uh, sleeping like a hibernating bear 99.9 of the time. SleepyTime Angel?

Sometimes she didn't even understand her own brain.

"Do you get phases at 247?" Cordelia piped, wringing the coffee filters nervously in her hands. "**CAN** vampires get phases?!"

Chloe couldn't help but smile a little, Cordelia rambled more than she ranted. "The elderly do tend to sleep more than others half their age, and it's not like 247..." Chloe paused, mentally contemplating Angel's age, "Angel's 247!?!"

Cordelia nodded swiftly, "Or is it 248? I really can't remember. Ya know, maybe he just needs a vacation." She paused, "Maybe we all need a vacation…" the last statement was more of a mutter and went unnoticed by the girl standing in front of her. _Maybe, I mean, what better way to get rid of guilt and brooding than a nice long vacation. Plus, it'll give us an excuse to help Wesley on his lacking fashion sense._

Her eyes briefly roamed over the online article Chloe was reading at her computer, which seemed to go unnoticed by Chloe. Cordelia's face contorted into a sort of frown and then realizing smirk. '_Two More Missing in Smallville, Kansas'_

* * *

Chloe was halfway through her vanilla latte as she walked into the Hyperion early the next morning. Well, it wasn't exactly early. She had gotten back to her apartment later than she wanted to last night; she couldn't help it if she was addicted to the 'weird' aspect of life. It was like a beacon, that never ceased its calling to her, and in turn, she was drawn to it like a pyromaniac to fire, particularly when a certain meteor capital of the world was involved. It was still interesting to see what new meteor related incidents occurred there, though no one would admit the meter rocks' influence on the small town. 

"Hey Wes!" Taking another swig from the paper Starbucks cup, Chloe waved to the British ex-watcher, who in turn nearly dropped the somewhat dusty text that had so avidly captivated his attention.

Chloe winced as she realized her extremely loud and impetuous greeting must have startled him. "Um... sorry?"

"Miss Sullivan..." Wesley had gained back most of his composure and balance, Chloe Sullivan was the last person he ever expected to walk into the office almost two hours late. She was usually the first person there in the morning and the last person to leave at night, well with the exception of Angel who lived at the Hyperion. "Was traffic bad?"

"Ya know, it's perfectly fine to call me Chloe or Chlo," She smiled, "everyone else does, except for..." She paused suddenly as if remembering something she wanted to bury and forget. "Uh, yeah, it's like Armageddon out there, with everyone practically at each other's throats for a spot at the beach." She continued without finishing her previous sentence. "I had to kill for a cup of coffee... well, not literally."

"Who was killed?" Cordelia said, picking that precise moment to walk into the room, a piping hot coffee mug in each hand.

"Uh... no one..." Wesley eyed the coffee mug suspiciously, as if it were a venomous snake. "Miss Sull-, Chloe was merely commenting on traffic conditions."

"Oh." Cordelia replied rather knowingly, "Coffee?" She added a few seconds later, brandishing the two mugs.

"Um... no," Wesley stammered, pretending to flip through the large antique looking book. "Ummm.... that is, uh, yes, uh..."

"Uhh... ya know." Chloe pointed to the Starbucks coffee mug, taking a huge gulp of coffee from it, and nodding, somehow at the same time.

"Soooo..." Cordelia turned back around suddenly, missing the silent exchanges of relief between Wesley and Chloe. "I was thinking." She paused dramatically, waiting for something.

"As exhilarating as this is-" Wesley started.

"Angel! Great!" Cordelia said to the figure descending down the stairs, cutting Wesley off rather abruptly. "Now that everyone, well we're sorta missing Gunn, but I'm sure we can call him later.

At everyone's Neanderthal expressions she continued. "Guess who has first class tickets to everyone's favorite agriculturally enhanced, harvest loving, pig chasing, and... God, I bet there's a lot of cow pies."

"Umm... did you want us to guess? Because there's probably at least fifty different places that fit that description."

"We do! For the next two weeks or so prepare for fresh country air, vast golden cornfields, and the sun shining goodness of Smallville, Kansas. Well, I don't know about that last part, seeing how some of us are sun intolerant. But I'm sure there are lots of sunless activities, so many in fact that we'll forget about that big 'ole ball of sunshine in no time." Cordelia continued, smiling at Chloe and Angel and purposefully choosing to ignore Wesley's previous comment.

Chloe could feel her heart clench at the very name of the small town, "**WHAT!?!**" She said a little more ear deafening than she wanted to, even if she was on caffeine high.

She was oblivious to the fact that the other three, uh, people in the room were staring at her until she opened her eyes that she hadn't even realized were so tightly shut.

She had to think of a good excuse for her outburst, and fast. "It's just that, uh, Smallville isn't exactly the most interesting town on this side of the globe. I give it a week before we're all 'royally' bored. And there's the erm, ummm, the killings on the..." She mouthed a silent 'oh', and shut her mouth quickly.

What was wrong? Cordelia thought that everyone would love taking a break, going on vacation, even if it was sort of classified as work, and maybe the town they were going to was known for its corn and... meteors. But it couldn't be that bad, could it? "See... I figure. Why not have a little vacation time and help the hopeless at the same time."

_Except that some of us won't exactly be having FUN. _Chloe had to convince them that she needed to stay behind, without telling them why. She had to; she couldn't bear to face Clark and Lana again.

* * *


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me so long to update. I have a huge, part of my overall final grade (as in 60 percent), biology project due in a few weeks and I haven't even started on it! So the updates will definitely take a lot longer...

**Just a note:** Gunn's gonna be in this story and maybe Lorne, but uh, Fred's not. It's supposed to take place BEFORE Fred is rescued from Pylea. Right about the time Darla shows up and Angel starts having nightmares about his past, hence the sleeping.

And now to answer some reviews!

Imzadi- Wow... someone sure likes Lindsey. ;) Maybe I'll put him in the story... but I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet.

White Tiger16- Thanks for your review, glad to see you're enjoying the Smallville/Angel crossover-y goodness.

Kool Gyrl- Glad ya like it! Gracias amiga!

Angel Fan- Ummm... this takes place around season 2 of Angel. When Angel has the weird dreams about his past, aka when Darla decides to make a reappearance. Ya know... how he would sleep for hours, stay up for two hours, and then sleep some more. Yep, sometime around that timeline. So there's no Fred and not that much of 'the host'.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts are in_ italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"Umm... ya know, maybe I should stay, to 'hold down the fort'." Chloe said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers as she watched Angel and Gunn load the suitcases into the car. She had tried this routine throughout the course of two days. She just couldn't make up her mind, and she felt like the unlucky piece of rope that somehow had ended up in a merciless game of Tug of War because of it. On one side of the rope there was the unselfish reason; go, help save hundreds or maybe thousands of people, but there was always the possibly of running into Clark and/or Lana. And on the other side was the selfish reason; don't go, let innocent people die, but evade Clark and Lana for another two to three years or so.

When you put it like that it sounded so simple, but she would feel horrible if something did happen to Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley, or Angel. Then there was her dad, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, Pete, Pete's family.

She hadn't even told them that she was from Smallville, because technically she wasn't. Sure, Metropolis was about an hour and a half drive from Smallville but there was a huge difference when it came to your not so average farm town and your freakishly huge big city. She had told them that she was from Kansas though the Smallville part was bound to come later. Maybe sometime during a boring gap in someone's conversation.

"Uh, never mind." Chloe said, noticing the disbelieving stares she was getting from both Gunn and Angel. For the most part everyone had two or three suitcases compared to Cordelia's five. And as expected, since Chloe was the first to run out of the Hyperion and basically thrust her suitcase at Angel, her stuff was shoved to the worst place a bag of luggage could be, the bottom. So it was virtually impossible to get it now.

Cordelia and Wesley walked through the front door of the Hyperion a minute or so later. Wesley was carrying a small black bag and two weather worn looking texts. Cordelia was toting another case of luggage in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other.

"Damn girl, I thought we were staying for a week, not a month." Gunn took the last suitcase from Cordelia. Placing it in the back, he slammed the trunk closed.

"Just being prepared. Who knows what the weather's like in corn field capital of the world... besides I can't leave the valuables behind." She countered.

"Was there anything you didn't manage to pack?" Chloe climbed into the passenger's seat of the Plymouth, not giving the option to anyone else. _Hey, first come first serve, right? And if you can avoid a bad situation, i.e. being squished like a gummy bear in the backseat between two guys... Wait, was that a bad thing?_ "You have enough clothes in there to start your own store."

"Har, har, you guys are hilarious." Cordelia opened the back door or the car and painstakingly placed her purse on the floor, to the point where it almost looked comfortable, that is if purses could actually be 'comfortable' and weren't inanimate objects.

Chloe sat in the passenger's seat, drumming her fingers against the side of the door. Everyone seemed to be almost finished loading their stuff in the trunk.

Two seconds later, Angel opened the door to the driver's side, fastened the seat belt and glanced over at Chloe who was still absentmindedly drumming.

"Oh no." Angel said jokingly, feigning a sad pout.

"Oh no?" The drumming stopped suddenly and Chloe turned to look at her critic, trying hard to keep a straight face and murderous look in her eyes.

Chloe loved to prank him; it was almost like her second job. Like the time whenshe purposefully gave him a mug of coffee that Cordelia had made and told him it was blood. Of course he couldn't just let a prank like that go 'unpunished'. Needless to say, the next day everyone but Chloe had the day off and there was a truckload and a half of work sitting on her desk.

"What do you mean 'oh no'?" Chloe reiterated.

"Well, that seems to be the last of it." Wesley also opened the back door of the car. As he nearly tripped over Cordelia's purse he wished that vampires weren't affected by the sunlight so they could have at least traveled during the day.

Gunn and Wesley both took the window seats leaving Cordelia to be sandwiched in between them.

"Uhhh... guys, elbow room, personal space?!" After much wiggling Cordelia was finally able to get comfortable enough to where there were no elbows poking her in her side.

Chloe tried to sit back and enjoy the silence before the impending storm that she knew was bound to come.

* * *

"Uh, Chloe?"

"Yeah?" Chloe put the Starbucks cup back in the holder and looked up at Angel innocently.

"I don't think anyone cares if there's a flea, on a fly, on a frog, on a log, in a hole at the bottom of the sea."

"Well, I can't really help it if the extreme boredom option is kicking in, he who abuses the term  
'classical music'."

They had been on the road less than thirty minutes due to everyone's unnecessary pit stop at Starbucks. And after thirty minutes of non-stop classical music and cramped conditions Chloe had no idea what went through her head when she decided to go on the twenty-two hour 'vacation'. She groaned inwardly, now that she thought about it they would be on the road a lot longer than a day. Angel wasn't sun proof so they would have to stop during the day. Unless they wanted a pile of ashes for a driver.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Mozart and Chopin are great every now and then but c'mon..." Cordelia added leaning forward so she had a side view of Chloe and Angel.

"Girl's gotta point." Gunn said from the backseat, somewhat glad that Cordelia had moved so he had a little breathing room again.

"Well, I guess I should be happy that you guys are at least trying to work together." As the car turned sharply to the right leftover vanilla latte splashed onto Chloe's olive green cargo skirt.

Chloe glared at the dark haired vampire before grabbing a napkin and blotting at the spill.

Angel smirked slightly, which went unnoticed by the fumbling and ranting blond.

"So what are we up against this time?" Gunn asked, the seriousness of the question seemed out of place among the void chaos.

"Well, we don't know exactly," As Wesley began to speak the car became deathly silent, the only noise was the gentle hum of the engine as the black Plymouth sped down the winding dark road. "But I've done a lot of research on the matter and it could be a variety of demons, gods, mythical beasts, hot dog vendors..."

"Hot dog vendors?" Chloe repeated, she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"Ah, yes," Wesley paused before continuing, "that fit the description of our mystery killer."

"So how can we fight this thing if we don't even know what we're dealing with?" As the car turned onto another winding road Cordelia couldn't help but wonder if they were lost. She could have sworn that they had passed that same road sign three miles ago. "We could be walking right into the next apocalypse or some unbeatable dark god or something..."

* * *

"Can I get another latte please?"

"Uh huh." Lana chirped amicably to the man in the dark suit. It wasn't until he had asked about a coffee refill that Lana realized he had been in the Talon for a good portion of that morning. It was odd really. She had never seen him before, and Smallville was the type of town where everyone knew everyone else, regardless if you were away at college or not.

Grabbing the Hazelnut blend from the coffee machine she walked back over to the strange man reading the daily edition of the Smallville Ledger.

He smiled at her toothily as she poured the coffee, expressing his gratitude.

Suppressing a shutter, Lana smiled politely back. There was something about this guy that screamed 'off'.

* * *

"You've got mail!"

Pete sat down at his computer; partially glad it was one of the things that his mom hadn't decided to take with her to Wichita. At least he had some form of technology when he came to visit his dad every now and then. Even after his parents' divorce they still sometimes feuded over what was whom's. It was hard at first, getting over the initial shock, but after some time and 'coaching' from Chloe; Pete came to accept the break up.

He clicked the 'new message' icon and waited for the page to load.

_Chloe._ He didn't even have to look at the email address to know it was her, just the subject said it all.

With the click of the mouse the link opened and he quickly, yet carefully read the words on the screen. ................................................................................................................................................

From: Chloe

Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 5:31 PM

To: Pete Ross

Subject: How's life on the home front?

Hey Pete!

I guess everything's fine here... it's summer break! That in itself is the very essence of the word 'fine', 'carefree', 'lackadaisical'. And now that we have brought up the lovely topic of summer break, I've made up my mind and I am definitely/most undoubtedly coming to Smallville within the next two days or so. On "business" matters!!! Business matters, as in work related stuff. So there will be no need to inform Clark and/or Lana. I mean it Pete Ross, no pranks, tricks, "coincidental reunions". I know a few vampires who wouldn't mind having a new chew toy. (J/K... or am I? _wiggles eyebrows mysteriously:_)

So I guess I'll be seeing you soon, right? I'll call you when I get to Smallville.

Cya!

-Chloe

* * *

_So, Chloe's coming back to Smallville._ Deleting the email, Pete leaned back on the computer chair. _I've gotta find some way to make those three friends again, even if it kills me. Who knew Chloe could hold a grudge this long, she'll be old, gray and forgetful once she finally decides to talk to Lana and Clark. I need a plan, something foolproof and guaranteed to work...  
_  
Pete smirked; he knew exactly what he had to do. He just hoped that they would all go through with it and not ask too many questions, by the end of the week they would all be best buds again.

_And what did she mean by vampires?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** And for those of us who are I/M (instant messenger) impaired:

J/K- just kidding

Cya- see ya!

* * *


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews peeps! And I the author/writer (which is like the same thing... huh.) have decided that there will be a guest appearance by someone... someone we all know. ;) I won't tell you who, but I will tell you that it's someone who Chloe knows. Muhahahahahahahaha!!!!

Okay, soooo while you peoples wrack your brains trying to figure out who it is, here's the next chapter.

Oh and:

1. I don't really know Gwen (the secretary)'s last name, so I sorta, kinda made it up.

2. I know the geography of Smallville is a little "off" but hey, work with me peoples!

To the reviews!

Imzadi- Wow. You're like a true blue Lindsey fan... it's kinda cool. Keep guessing...

Princess Lollipop- Glad ya like the fic so far. I know... the ending was... (cries) Wesley's GONE!!! (cries) Why did it have to end? It's not fair! Thanks for the luck on the Biology project. :) Ah, teachers. They just don't get it! Their students have lives, but do we have lives now? Noooooo! Not will all the homework they're piling up on us.

**Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.**

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in_ italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Two days had gone by since Pete had received the email from Chloe, and he hadn't heard from her since then. Which was okay, it gave him more time to perfect "The Plan".

First, he would ask Chloe, Clark and Lana to meet him at the local diner across the street from he antique store, but not tell Chloe that he had invited Clark and Lana and vice versa. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a bona fide, fool proof plan but hopefully it would be enough to get Chloe to stay and work out whatever differences she had with Clark and Lana. And if 'plan A' didn't work, Pete Ross was prepared with a back up 'plan B'. Which was almost the same as 'plan A' except for the sole fact that they would be meeting at Crater Lake to investigate a murder scene instead of meeting at the local diner.

Chloe wasn't one to turn down a good investigation, and for once in the eight years that he had known her, this 'flaw' had finally proven to be a good thing. He just hoped that it would work.

"Pete!?" His sister, Leia, came thundering up the stairs, two at a time. The cordless phone in one hand and a bag of popcorn in the other. "Phone."

She held the phone impatiently, snatching her hand away mere seconds before he grabbed the phone, she then turned around running back downstairs. Pete didn't have to guess, _Passions_ was on.

Pete rolled his eyes at his sister's odd antics and put the phone to his ear.

_It could be worse._ He reasoned.

"Hello?"

* * *

"And no screw ups this time." Somehow Holland Manners managed to even make whispering appear loud and menacing. He slammed the phone down on the receiver. He was starting to regret the decision of sending him to Smallville. It wasn't that he couldn't do the job, but with no one to take charge of the other project they were losing valuable time. Time that the senior partners didn't have.

But then again, he was the only one well suited for the assignment. If there was anyone who had a God given gift of negotiation it was-

"Mr. Manners, you have a phone call on line three." Gwen Davenport, Wolfram and Hart's secretary, poked her head into the office door, unfortunately interrupting his train of thought.

"Thank you Gwen." She nodded a curt 'you're welcome', leaving Mr. Manner's to his personal affairs.

* * *

"Fine... but only if you-. You said that before Pete, how do I know...?" Chloe flopped down on the hotel bed, her eyes fixated on the creamy beige ceiling.

"Okay, okay," She continued, holding the cell phone against her ear as she kicked off her black flip-flop sandals. "I'll come, just no Clark or Lana. I really mean it Pete. NO Clark **AND**, and possibly **OR** Lana."

"No, I haven't told my dad that I'm here yet. For some reason whenever I tell him Lana somehow manages to figure out that I'm here."

_Is Pete planning something?_

She could have sworn she could hear the gears turning in Pete's head, even through the phone.

_Yep, definitely planning something._

Deciding to ignore her reporter sense for now she refocused her attention to whatever Pete was saying at the moment, unfortunately she missed a good four seconds of it when she had zoned out a few moments ago.

"Uh, what were you saying? Oh, that. That was just an "idle treat"; good gosh Pete I never thought you would be the one to take my meaningless rants and jokes seriously." She paused, "Vampires? Right Pete, and I'm sure the vampires play pool with Santa Claus and the Tooth fairy on their day off."

It was a lie, but one she had to tell. There was a difference between a lie that you had to tell and a flat out lie, wasn't there? But really, how sane would she sound telling her best friend that vampires weren't a figment of someone's imagination and only found in myths and lore, but that they roamed the streets of L.A. nightly. And she was sure the line, 'Oh, they're pretty harmless once you get past the 'I'm a ruthless killer' thing. I actually work for one, he's a pretty great guy.' would go over really well.

That and it wasn't her 'secret' to tell. She finally had a 'secret life' of her own; there was no way that she was just going to tell Pete everything that happened during the past three and a half years of her life.

"Yeah, uh, okay. Pete's Diner? So let me guess, this Pete's diner is your favorite hang out spot? Okay. Why doesn't that surprise me?" The light rapping at the door jolted Chloe from her conversation with Pete.

"Pete, I'll call have to call you back. Yep! See ya!" Pressing the end button on her cell, she set the phone down on the billowy navy blue comforter. She stretched leisurely for a moment and walked over to the door.

_Okay? And there's the little fact that I didn't tell anyone that I was going to be in Smallville this week. Unless of course Pete told half the town, or it could be... Lana or Clark dropping by to- _

"By whatever powers that be, please don't let that be Clark." She muttered under her breath, closing her eyes momentarily. She didn't even bother to slow her already snail-like pace. If it was Clark, maybe it was time to face the music. She was a little tired of running from her past life in Smallville, and she didn't think she could come up with an excuse in the next minute that he hadn't already heard before.

Slowly she walked towards the door as if it were a frightened animal that had to be approached with caution for fear of startling it and provoking it to attack.

The soft knocking became more evident as Chloe neared the door, gradually she unlocked the top and bottom lock and undid the "gold" chain.

Her heart was in her throat as she opened the heavy steel door, with each passing second the quickened thumping of her heart rang louder and faster in her ears.

She finally gathered enough courage to peer around the door.

"Angel?" It was more of a choked out gasp than an actual word. She had never been more elated to see the vampire in her entire life.

"You were expecting someone else?" Something was clearly wrong; her heart rate was three times beyond normal.

_Ah, the benefits of being a vampire._

He knew he must have looked concerned because she attempted a classic "all is right in the world of Chloe" smile.

"Umm... no, no. I, you, I wasn't expecting you to, uh, be here. Especially since the sun is in full force today, and those little full day naps you've been having lately..." She was babbling, and hesitating.

_Can't vampires hear your heartbeat?_

When she saw the amused look on his face there was no doubt about it, she was rambling. And Chloe Sullivan doesn't ramble, she was sarcastic, witty, and occasionally over enthusiastic about things, but she never rambled.

"Ever since we've been here I haven't been having those 'little full day naps' that much... well, at all."

"That's good," Somewhere between her babbling and her almost good-natured thought processes; she realized that she must have opened the door. "Hibernation isn't really your thing. Better suited for cutesy fur bearing critters."

_Not that you're anything but cute... uh, that was wrong wasn't it?_

There was the old Chloe Sullivan wit, but she still didn't seem 'okay', she was acting like she was hiding something. "Or so I've heard."

She smiled half-heartedly at the comment, and little by little he could hear her pulse return to its normal pace.

Pulling her gray hoodie over her shoulders she stepped out into the hall.

"So to what do I owe the honor?" She teased, the issue of Clark in the past, for now anyway. Maybe she could avoid running into him throughout this whole vacation to Meteor Land.

"Apparently Cordy's got something planned. She wants everyone to meet her downstairs, in ten minutes? It was either five or ten..."

_Yep. The Alzheimer's is finally kicking in. Smiling at your own joke Chloe?_ She mentally chided herself. _That's pathetic._

"We go on one overnight camping trip and she's already taking the job of camp counselor." Chloe paused, watching her wriggling sky blue painted toes. "Uh. I'm gonna get my shoes."

She gestured towards the hotel room with one hand, twirling the key around with the other. Dashing into the room she slipped on the flip-flops, grabbed her purse, then walked back out the door.

"Sorry about that." Angel turned to look at the potential reporter, watching her as she fumbled with the key, and threw it in her purse along with her cell phone.

It wasn't long before she managed to catch up with him, and despite her shorter size and shorter leg strides, soon fell into step with her vampire friend.

"Chloe?"

_Why is he looking at me like that? Like I'm some defenseless damsel in distress who needs everyone's sympathy?_

"Are you okay?"

The question seemed to catch her off guard and she unconsciously mashed the elevator button several times before finding a suitable answer.

"Who? Me?" She knitted her eyebrows together in confusion, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You tell me... you seemed pretty freaked out back there."

"No. I mean, fine. Nothing's wrong." She attempted another 'Chloe' smile. "Hey look, the elevator."

She sped past him into the elevator, hitting the 'door open' button for a few other temporary residents who had gathered sometime during their conversation.

Chloe leaned back against the elevator wall, trying not to let her eyes linger too long on the vampire standing to her left. It was a bit odd. Could he really read her emotions by simply hearing the beating of her tell tale heart?

_Vampires... they're like freakin' psychics. There's no use trying to hide anything from them, they've got a sixth sense. But at least Angel realizes that I exist. Clark sure didn't, he's oblivious to everything but the "lovely Lana Lang"._

* * *

The blond haired stranger had been sitting in the Talon all day. Lana had specifically told Melody to call the police if the man was still there after she had left, but being the shy and bashful person that Melody was, she just couldn't tell him to go. Lana had told her that something about the seemingly handsome stranger wasn't all that normal. Normal for Smallville anyway, which wasn't saying much. Even she knew that Smallville was far from being anyone's 'safe haven'.

It may have had something to do with his dark attire, or the way he isolated himself from the regular bustle of the day. It was like he didn't have a care. The world could be ending and fifty bucks said that the stranger would hold onto his blasé front.

It was terrifying.

And there, sitting in the darkened corner he looked frightening; in a dark, seductive, slightly corrupted, vampire type of way.

_Seductive?__ Where did that come from? You're supposed to be telling him to "get out"! Not drooling over him._

Melody timidly walked over to the table, her shoulder length pink hair swaying after her during the short trek.

"Um. I don't really mean to sound rude." She paused briefly, taking a deep breath, being nervous sucked. "But it's almost closing time."

He nodded vacantly; looking up from the newspaper he had been reading but choosing not to speak.

"Thanks." And so, Melody walked off as quickly as she came. The majority of her other customers had already left, with the exception of the couple snuggled contentedly on the couch.

"We close in ten minutes."

_Maybe this telling people what to do thing isn't that bad._ She thought while civilly informing the couple of the Talon's closing hours.

When they left a moment later she decided it would be more practical to start cleaning up now. Like any good natured teen she wanted to get home earlier not later.

She wandered into the dimly lighted kitchen, a little shelving here, a little mopping there, and she was done. She smiled at her handiwork, shutting the lights off and returning once more to the serving counter.

_Hey, if I hurry I can still catch the O.C._

She hated having to be the last one to leave, especially when it meant having to miss a good twenty to thirty minutes of _the O.C_. It was nearly impossible to sit on the couch and try to figure out what was going on when you missed the first half hour, but as assistant manager locking up was her appointed task.

Melody was halfway to the door when a blood curling thought hit her like a ton of bricks; the scary guy hadn't left yet. Or had he? She didn't exactly see him leave, but then again she had been in the back room for a good while.

Shrugging in typical teenage fashion she reached her destination, the door.

_Whoa._ She shuttered silently, something didn't seem right. _Bad case of the chills.__  
_  
If only she had stuck to her intuition and glanced behind her she might have been able to fend off the clawed hand that so viciously ripped out her throat.

* * *


	6. Chapter 5

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places  
  
**Disclaimer:** See prologue.  
  
**Rating:** PG-13  
  
**Author:** Supergurl15  
  
**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I had to take the SAT last Saturday. God, that sucked... I hate that test. I know it's just a test... but has anyone here ever taken it? It's nerve wracking. Hopefully when school lets out I'll have more time for **important **things like updating, practicing guitar, hanging with the guys. Lol.  
  
Uh... right...  
  
So has anyone guessed as to who the surprise visitor is? (shifty eyes) Not to worry the guessing game is over... read below to find out if you guessed right.  
  
To the reviews!  
  
Imzadi- My dedicated reviewer. Thanks for reviewing. I'll give you fifty points because part of your guess was right... you'll just have to read this chapter to see which part.  
  
Charmmaine- Thanks for your review. I'm really glad you're enjoying the fic.  
  
Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.  
  
Takes place around season two of Angel.  
  
Thoughts and sometimes titles are in_ italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"So Pete, what's with the name?" It took a lot of pep talking, coaching, and coaxing to get Chloe to Pete's Diner on time. She still couldn't help but think that Pete was indeed planning something, she just hadn't figured out what exactly. But she wasn't too disappointed, the Fifties diner was well, a Fifties diner. There was a jukebox, soda fountain, and even a classic sit-in counter. The chairs and booths also had a traditional Fifties 'ring' to them and the floor looked like a giant checkerboard, minus the checker pieces.  
  
"Dunno. Guess the owner just so happens to share a common but well loved trait."  
  
Chloe smiled at the joke, sliding into a nearby booth along the Smallville native.  
  
"How's L.A.?"  
  
"It's okay." Chloe fiddled nervously with the saltshaker, passing it back and forth between both hands before answering. She didn't know anything about this new restaurant. Was it a hang out spot for Lana and Clark too? "A little more than I thought it would be. But it's fun."  
  
_Yeah, when bloodthirsty vampires aren't trying to turn me into a human pincushion and other various demons aren't trying to kill off the entire human population and enslave the world. It's just dandy!  
_  
"How are things in the meteor capital of the world?"  
  
"Nothing's really changed."

A blond in a pink and white waitress uniform placed two menus in front of the chatting duo, the corner of her lips were pulled into a chipper smile that Chloe couldn't help but think was a little more than frightening.  
  
"Unless you count the drowning accidents at Crater Lake." Pete went on to continue, "I sort of figured you were here to do a little investigating for yourself. It'll be sorta like old times."  
  
"That's actually the reason I'm here Pete. You know me; I can't stay away from the 'wall of weird worthy' for too long."  
  
The smile on her face lasted on her face for only a few moments until she noticed who the bell on the diner door had rung for.  
  
_So Pete had been planning this!?! Probably from the moment I told him I was going to be in Smallville for a few days. A few days! How can you plan anything when you're only going to be somewhere for a short while!?_  
  
Her hands strayed to the napkin dispenser on the table. She was contemplating throwing the metal box at Pete's head when Clark and Lana sat down.  
  
"Hey Pete, I-" Clark started, noticing the girl sitting to the left of Pete, who for some reason reminded him of... "Chloe?"

So the girl was Chloe. She had finally dropped whatever was between them to visit Smallville, or had she? Clark had a slightly more sinking feeling that Chloe's unannounced visit to the diner was Pete's doing instead of Chloe's own voluntary actions, but that still didn't explain why she was in Smallville.  
  
"Chloe?" Lana said, repeating what Clark just stated a few seconds prior.  
  
If Chloe wasn't so pissed off at Pete it almost would have been funny.  
  
"This is a surprise, Pete didn't tell us you would be here." She finished, smiling optimistically at the fuming blond.  
  
Chloe's head turned slightly so she was glaring full force at Pete. If looks could kill Pete would have been in a coffin with six feet of dirt on top of him.  
  
"Oh yeah! Pete's just full of surprises." She spat, needless to say a little more than angry but not without the sarcasm, of course.  
  
_How could he? After I told him... Pete isn't getting off the hook, not this time. He completely betrayed me! But then again, it's not like he hasn't tried this twice before, the only difference was that the other two times didn't work. I guess it's true... third time really is 'the charm". God Chloe, how could you be so stupid?! This has been Pete's sick and twisted plan all along! This must be another one of his "good intentions"_ She scoffed to herself, _everyone knows nothing good ever comes from good intentions!_  
  
"Now if you'll excuse me." She swiftly began to rise from the booth, but sat down as quickly as she stood up when a leaving customer accidentally jabbed her in her side.  
  
It appeared like the man had turned around to apologize, but whatever thoughts he had of that vanished on his face as the corner of his lips curled into a slightly brash smirk.  
  
When she had finally glimpsed at the stranger who had run into her, she almost wished she hadn't. Why Smallville? Why was everything bad that could happen to her happening? What had she done to deserve this?! This was precisely the part of the job that Chloe hated the most, having to come to other cities where she knew something that was supposed to be completely ironic and coincidental would happen and she wouldn't be prepared for it, which happened quite a lot actually.  
  
But that wasn't the point.  
  
She was almost sure that people in towns other than Smallville, didn't run into their top three worst enemies at the same time in the same day.  
  
There was just no way.  
  
That's it, she was cursed. Maybe the PTB were getting back at her for bad mouthing their 'champion'. Who knows with them, they were your best buds one minute and sometime during the next you hated them for never giving you an easy solution to the day by day rituals that were prophecies. And there was nothing worse than an evil prophecy, which most of them were by the way. There was too much brainstorming, researching, fighting, coffee, and blood involved, and not necessarily in that order.  
  
"Lindsey." Chloe greeted the young lawyer almost scornfully. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Ah, Chloe Sullivan, the young reporter. How's that working out for you?"  
  
"Uh. Fine. How's lawyer life?" If he wanted to play the friendly conversational card...  
  
"Great."  
  
_Okay so, annoying him with semi-friendly small talk isn't exactly going to work. God, and is that stupid little grin plastered to his face?!_  
  
To the average onlooker, the pair looked like they were two old friends who hadn't spoken to each other in years and were trying to make use of limited time and small conversation.  
  
"Yeah? So I see you still have the prosthetic hand."  
  
_So it is working!_ She thought, grinning innocently when she began to see the effects of her stalling gradually cracking away at the invisible barriers that kept his growing impatience at bay.  
  
_He's definitely not going to make it though another round of 'Friendly Feud'._  
  
"Look Chloe." Something about the way he smirked almost good-naturedly at her made her want to smack that conceited grin right off his face. "Let's cut the crap. Where the hell is Angel?"  
  
"Angel?" Resting her chin on her balled fists, she leaned forward with her elbows on the table, pretending to be deeply in thought.  
  
_Hey, this may sound crazy, but this is kinda fun. No wonder Angel loves ticking him off so much._  
  
"Angel? I dunno, but I'm sure if you looked in the most logical place... L.A." The last part of her sentence was mumbled under her breath, in a 'that was obvious' manner.  
  
"Ms. Sullivan, if I didn't know better I'd say you were being sarcastic."  
  
"You're just the regular Sherlock Holmes aren't you Lindsey?"  
  
The snarky comeback didn't go unnoticed by the three other people sitting at the table who were simply in shock at Chloe's sudden change in attitude. Everyone knew that Chloe had a natural born talent for being cynical, but not to the point where she was just flat out rude. All three couldn't help but wonder what the man standing there before them had done that would make Chloe so upset. Could he be the cause of Chloe's distant and moody behavior over the past three years?  
  
"Pretty soon we'll have to buy you a hat and pipe and start calling you 'Sir'."  
  
She paused, smiling at him mechanically, "Sarcastic enough for you?"  
  
"Did you actually need something Lindsey, or did you come here to interrogate me while I'm trying to enjoy summer vacation with my... friends?" The cold hearted glare she gave him could have stopped a train, but it took all of her restraint to keep the cringe that was creeping up on her face from being on display. _Friends!?_  
  
"Summer vacation?" A brief friendly smile fluttered across his features and Chloe almost gagged at his sudden change of heart. "Guess I'm the rude one. Lindsey McDonald, it's nice to meet you all. Really."  
  
Lana, of course, Miss Cheerful and Forever Amicable, smiled warmly at the brunette. And judging from the smitten look in her eyes she probably didn't want to hear about Lindsey's life as an evil lawyer at an even more evil law firm. Clark and Pete sort of nodded then diverted their attention back to the pair that still hadn't given up on throwing insults back and forth at each other.  
  
"Tell Angel I said 'Hi'..." Picking up the coffee that Chloe could only guess he had put on the offending table sometime during their 'conversation', he continued his once forgotten journey to the exit.  
  
_Great... this is just NOT my week. Lana, Clark, Lindsey... who's next? Lilah and Holland too? That wouldn't surprise me... Lionel Luthor maybe? Or hell, how about the Joker!? Okay, so I'm over reacting.  
_  
It wasn't until she looked up from the napkins that she had been so earnestly dousing salt on that she noticed the other three members at the table staring at her; it was like they were waiting for something.  
  
"Uh, Chlo-?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So...?"  
  
"So, what?" She hadn't the foggiest as to what Pete was talking about; maybe she missed the question when she was ranting away in the land of daydreams.  
  
"Who was that?" Trust Chloe to zone out at the start of a new conversation. Was she upset? At him? He hoped not, even thought she probably was and wanted to kill him. Why was she shredding that napkin into little pieces?  
  
Like any typical person, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. Which, for the most part is never the best answer in a tight situation.  
  
"Um, jealous ex." Without even trying Chloe Sullivan had already dug a hole to the center of the earth and buried herself in it.  
  
_Chloe, you idiot! Ex? Ex-boyfriend? Is that the best you could come up with? Ewww, and it's Lindsey! LINDSEY! Okay... maybe he's a little hot. Forgive me PTB! But he's... Lindsey. He works for a corrupted law firm! That's basically the equivalent of evil._  
  
_Then again, I can't exactly tell THEM that. "Uh yeah, he's my boss' arch nemesis and a lawyer at an evil law firm. Ya know, your average killing of the innocents, out for world domination, and demon resurrecting type evil." Kinda late to change it, might as well go along so it won't look too suspicious._  
  
"So why is he hung up on this Angel character?"  
  
Clark and Lana sat quietly listening to the discussion unraveling before them. They figured out a long time ago that it was pointless trying to talk to Chloe.  
  
"He hates Angel because he's my... erm, boyfriend. Hence, the jealous ex- boyfriend role." And with that the hole grew even bigger. But at least it wasn't too farfetched, and it didn't give them too much insight into the personal life of Chloe Sullivan.  
  
"Angel?" Pete raised an eyebrow skeptically, as if he was making an attempt to try and figure out if she was making everything up as she went along. Fortunately Chloe was a pretty decent liar.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
_C'mon Chloe, stop tearing the napkin apart and think of a good supporting detail._  
  
"Everyone calls him that. It's a nickname." She added.  
  
_Maybe it's semi-wishful thinking, but is that the green eye of envy in Clark's eyes?_  
  
She hoped that her observations were right to some extent; maybe for once in his life he would understand what Chloe felt when she had to find out that he was dating Lana. It may have been his life dream but he could have at least emailed, or called about it.  
  
She lifted her messenger bag from the bench, and once again stood up. This time avoiding any elbows that could poke her in the side.  
  
Lindsey should have left the premises by now. Hopefully if he hadn't decided to leave the minute he walked out of the door the conversation between the three once good friends was enough to convince him that they were in fact her "friends", and that there was nothing going on in the home of the strange.  
  
"Well, I'd better be going." With that she turned and began walking towards the exit.  
  
"Chloe?" All three couldn't tell if Chloe was purposely ignoring them or if she was too far away to answer Clark's query, but the loud 'dinging' of the chime on the door already clarified their suspicions.

* * *

**Author's note:** Oh, and to those who don't know...** PTB** stands for the **Powers that Be**.


	7. Chapter 6

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me a long time to update. AP Literature sucks. Who knew I would have this much work to do over the summer. My summer's completely booked. It really sucks… how do they (teachers) expect us to do all of this crap that they call work? I mean, I've got a million other things to do this summer other than this crap. Who can possible read six novels in eight weeks… and they're **thick** novels!!! Anywho…

Imzadi- Lol. Cute rhyme thing. I certainly can't make promises for this one… I'm really not sure how this plot is going to turn out. Really.

Princess Lollipop- Thanks for the review. Don't worry… the updates will continue.

Peets96- I'm not sure how this story is going to turn out. I hadn't originally planned on any pairings, but who knows now.

Oh and another thing, I dunno what I was thinking… forgetting about the visions. Don't worry there's a vision or two in this chapter.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The smoldering heat of the golden Kansas sun was the first thing she noticed as she stepped outside the quaint little diner. Not that she wasn't used to the suffocating sunlight of Kansas or California for that matter; she just wasn't expecting it too be **hot**, as in heat wave hot, as in you can't even squint your eyes open without them hurting hot.

There was about a penguin's chance in the Sahara that Angel was out touring the town with Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley.

That meant he was either sitting at the hotel, blinds drawn, curtains closed, and in one of his "I'm the King of Brood" modes; or sulking with the blinds drawn, curtains closed, reading some sixteenth or seventeenth century novel and listening to classical music, or Barry Manilow.

God, she really knew him too well.

The green light at the crosswalk indicated that it was safe to walk across the busy street. Even though she was seriously annoyed at Pete, he had been right about one thing, nothing had changed in their leafy little hamlet. Well, there was a new stop sign to replace the one that had been run over by a wayward dairy truck a couple of years back, but there weren't any big changes, like a three story mall with a parking garage.

The heat only grew more intensifying as she rounded the corner to the Five Star Hotel. Yes, that was actually the hotel's name, though she couldn't help but wonder if the fact that the hotel was one of the ritziest in Smallville had anything to do with the hotel's less than original title.

Once she was within three feet of the door, she halted mid stride. With a realizing smirk she spun around completely and headed in the opposite direction.

* * *

Gentle yet demanding knocking at the hotel door was what abruptly jolted Angel from his thoughts.

Setting a glass containing a deep red liquid on the cherry oak table he got up from the regal looking high backed chair and went to answer the door.

"Chloe?"

_Why is everyone saying my name like it's the newest replacement for "What?!"?_

"Hey. I thought you were pretty bored up here. Sitting in a dark room all alone…"

She held up the F.Y.E. bag lightheartedly as she walked into the room uninvited, and sat in the overstuffed chair Angel had been sitting in a few minutes prior.

"Sure, go ahead Chloe, make yourself at home." He murmured to himself sardonically.

"Thanks." She said, continuing to sift through the bag, "Oh. Found it!"

"What did you find exactly?" Closing the door Angel returned to his now occupied chair, only to find the unexpected guest sitting in his seat. "I was sitting there…"

Ignoring him she continued, "The movie I bought, one of them anyway."

"_Interview with a Vampire_?" His coffee brown eyes grazed over the cover of the DVD. Why did that title seem so familiar to him?

"Yeah, I remember you told me you hadn't seen it yet. And being the good natured person that I am, I couldn't resist buying one of the best movies that the twentieth century had to offer. Full of angst, suspense, dark themes, and violence, which is really something that I need right now. I guess the traumatizing experience of running into Lindsey at the local diner will do that to a person."

"Lindsey?"

"Yeah." Getting up from the unusually comfortable stiff backed chair, she walked across the room to the TV and built in DVD player. Five star hotels, what didn't they have?

"As in Lindsey McDonald?"

Putting the DVD in the player she pressed the play button and stepped backwards to observe her work, "There."

She whirled back around, facing the ensouled vampire and for the first time she noticed the light free room. There was nothing 'light' about it. "Ya know, this room definitely suits you." Her bright green eyes flickered about the room, taking in the room's depressing tone. Everything, from the color of the curtains to the color of the carpet looked like it had been especially custom ordered for a dark, semi-ominous creature of the night.

A less than vibrant blend of browns and reds and blacks did nothing to improve the overall eye catching factor of the room but it create a sort of spooky, menacing look. Apollo and his sphere of golden goodness wasn't going to get anywhere within the secluded room, not with the thick velvety blood red curtains obscuring the sun's piercing and for some, harmful glare. Five star hotels… some things were better left unasked.

Shrugging she pocketed her previous thoughts and sat down heavily on the chair with the remote.

She couldn't help but smile triumphantly at Angel's irritated expression. It was already bad that she had walked in uninvited, but now she was purposefully ignoring him. It was almost hilarious.

"Angel, I only know one 'Lindsey McDonald', who's a guy, and I only know one Lindsey who's a lawyer at Wolfram and Hart."

"Lindsey's here? In Sandhill?"

"It's actually pronounced Smallville." Chloe smiled at his moment of senility.

"Smallville. Sandhill. Once you've visited one small town, you've basically visited them all. There's always the same rat infested exit in a narrow alley."

"Would the narrow escape route be before or after the bout with the pitchforks in Ireland?" Chloe taunted, the laughing tone never disappearing from her voice.

"You're hilarious…" He commented dryly.

"You know, I've been hearing that phrase a lot lately. It's starting to lose its effect."

Angel rolled his eyes none to conspicuously at her sarcasm when she got up to situate her messenger bag near the window.

"Saw that…"

"Can we get back to what you were saying?"

"Someone sure is irritable..." She commented, still ignoring him. "I would blame it on the lack of light in this room… but we can't really do anything about that."

"Chloe…" He said, frustration evident in his voice.

"Um… yeah." _I guess some people are just not easily fooled by the ageless topic change detour. _Her eyes searched the room, as she tried to recall this morning's events without mentioning why she was at the diner in the first place. Needless to say she didn't have to think very hard. "Lindsey was here at this diner called, well, Pete's Diner. I stopped there for a cup of coffee this morning and coincidentally ran into him, literally."

Angel sat on the other side of the oak table, his eyes never leaving the portrait of a dark haired girl with haunting green eyes hanging above the entertainment center. "What would Lindsey be doing in Small… ville?"

Chloe had almost thought that he was spacing out… again. He had actually only did it once when she was talking to him, but it was uh, weird. Try to explain something important to a guy and they suddenly get all gloomy and pensive.

"By George, I think he's got it." She smirked using her best British accent. "I dunno… brushing up on his agricultural skills?"

"Chloe…"

"Angel…" She said, mimicking his depressed nature.

He sat back in the chair, like a child who was upset at their father for being placed on punishment.

"Okay. I promise." She held up her right hand in mock resignation, "Less irony, more seriousness. You just don't understand how hard it is to refrain from using sarcasm. It's like second nature to me."

"Drinking six cups of coffee every morning is 'second nature' to you." He replied, grinning impishly.

"You're using my own words against me?" It was her turn to sit back in the opposite chair, ignoring him. "It was more like four cups of coffee, and it was only that **one** time."

"Right." He said, not flinching from the chair.

After a moment or two of not saying anything, it was Chloe who finally broke the feigned silence. "Lindsey didn't seem like he was up to any vacationing any time soon. It was like, he was, up to another one of his 'faultless, one hundred percent guaranteed to work or your money back' plans." Most which never actually worked a good majority of the time. Not with everyone's favorite crime fighting team working twenty four seven to keep the City of Angels safe.

"What if he's here for the same reason that we are…"

"To kill the demon?" Angel mused, a bit sarcastically that was completely overlooked by Chloe.

"No… to befriend it." Chloe continued, her voice raising an octave as if she had just made a discovery almost as important as the wheel.

"I know. I was being… nevermind."

Without so much as looking in his direction she continued, "But why would Wolfram and Hart want an unabashed killer? Wait, this is Wolfram and Hart that we're talking about. I'm pretty sure 'unabashed' isn't even in their guidebook to better morals. If they even have morals."

"What are you-?" He had hardly gotten those three little words out before Chloe started speaking again.

"They think we won't expect them. It's not everyday that a law firm decides to follow up on the strange aspects of a small town. Then, they plan on using it against us, but they won't expect us to be expecting them."

Angel watched the ranting girl for a few seconds longer. The best thing to do when she was stuck on one of her Sherlock Holmes ruts was to let her burn out. Sort of like a candle, after a while she would run out of scenarios and observations and give up.

Chloe turned the remote over in her hands before it was placed on the oak table, "We only have to find out what's doing the attacking before Wolfram and Hart does."

* * *

Lana Lang stood only a few yards away from the once deserted coffee house. Police cars, ambulances, and even a few fire trucks swarmed the street facing the Talon that was scheduled to open only a few hours later.

Lana wasted no time in walking, or more like running to the scene but was stopped by a rather stocky policeman who was doing a fairly good job at keeping bystanders away.

"It's all right Paul, she's the manager."

The man, Paul, instantly stepped aside at Sheriff Nancy Adam's command, allowing Lana to approach the scene.

"Sheriff Adams, what's going on?" A look of uncertainty swept over Lana's face. Granted she only came once a week to 'manage' the Talon, but she was still the manager.

"One of your employees couldn't open the store this morning, there was a body blocking the door of the Talon from the inside."

Lana gasped audibly halfway through the sheriff's synopsis of the morning's events, but allowed the sheriff to finish her statement. "Oh my God…"

One hand came to rest on her mouth and she gritted under it. "Do you know who it was?"

"According to the employee that found her…" Sheriff Adams turned around to gesture at a short, blond haired girl who was talking to a nearby police officer.

_Karen? _Her eyes were blood shot red, and Lana could tell that she had been crying, hard. Her head was bowed sullenly and Lana found tears forming at her eyes as well.

But it was the sheriff's next words that would forever haunt her thoughts, "… Melody Green."

"Melody?" Lana nearly choked on her own words; the news hit her head on like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, not fully aware of what was going on until it was too late.

_I only saw her yesterday. Talked to her… God. Not Melody. She didn't deserve this._

"Right now we're waiting for the detective and the medical examiner to get here." The sheriff paused, watching the girl's saddened demeanor. "I can't tell you how long it'll be before you can get this place fully up and running again. It may take days, months, sometimes years. It just depends on how much we find out."

Lana nodded absentmindedly, still trying to come to terms with Melody's death. "As long as it takes…"

* * *

"That was fun. We should all do this again sometime, but next time we drag Chloe and Angel along." Cordelia said, turning around every so often to make sure that Gunn and Wesley were keeping up.

They had been 'touring' the little town most of the morning, stopping only to do a little shopping at a nearby plaza. By the end of the day both Gunn and Wesley were carrying an armload of assorted bags and boxes as Cordelia led the trio to the next shop.

"Who knew these small towns kept up with the latest fashion trends? Angel and Chloe really missed out. A whole day of shopping, and at really good price. What could be better?"

"I didn't, if I did I sure as hell wouldn't have come along. 'A tour.' Right." Gunn muttered once he was sure Cordelia was out of hearing range.

"I could think of a couple of things." Wesley commented under his breath, shifting one of the bags to another arm.

"Did you guys say something?" Cordelia turned around, raising an eyebrow questionably. Not that they could actually see her over the pile of merchandise that they were carrying.

"No, nothing at all."

"Why would you think something like that?"

They both said simultaneously, somehow still managing to keep up with Cordelia.

She nodded, turning back around. "Hey, isn't that the little coffee shop we passed this morning?"

Cordelia glanced at the now occupied parking lot that had been relatively vacant only six hours before.

"I wonder what happened…" She frowned thoughtfully before speaking again, "Hey, do you guys think-"

Gunn and Wesley both dropped the bags that they were carrying, running over to Cordelia as if their very lives depended on it.

Cordelia swayed a little, her hands pressed tightly to her head in agony. Both men rushed to catch her before she fell.

"It's all right, she suffers from terrible migraines." Wesley tried to reassure the growing crowd that was gathering across the street from them. Trust the Powers that Be to send Cordelia a vision at the most inappropriate time.

Working together they managed to guide her over to the nearest park bench. As the effects of the vision began to subside, so did the crowd. It wasn't long before the curious onlookers had resumed shopping and forgotten about the woman with the horrible migraines.

"I'm okay." Cordelia leaned back on the bench, answering the question she knew that either one of them was bound to ask. Of course they weren't as overprotective as Angel, but they were still… overprotective.

"I saw our mystery killer… I expected him to be gross, scaly, and big scary. But he was actually pretty cute; blond hair, blue eyes, everything. I mean, for a bloody thirsty killer." She paused, considering her choice of words. "It's no wonder he's killing so many girls. I bet they just flock over to him."

"Could we get back to the point?" Gunn said, ending Cordelia's swooning over the sadistic killer. Somehow, that just seemed wrong.

"Sorry. But you can't expect me to keep getting these visions without some sort of 'compensation'." At Gunn and Wesley's puzzled ogling she continued as if nothing had happened. "It was dark, and there was a field… a farm! With a… a… windmill. There was this girl; she was crawling into a hole or something…"

"We should probably tell Angel about this." Wesley had already whipped out his cell phone and began punching in the numbers to the hotel.

Cordelia nodded as Gunn helped her to stand, she shrieked once she saw her precious bags and boxes that had been flung onto the pavement in an almost uncaring manner.

Gunn and Wesley turned around hurriedly, prepared to fight a demon if need be.

"You guys dropped the clothes?!"

* * *

In another hotel room across town someone else was using their cell phone.

"Yeah. It's Lindsey. You'll never guess who I ran into."

* * *


	8. Chapter 7

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me a long time to update. School stuff, work stuff, volunteer stuff, college stuff, driving lessons. I got my license! And then the whole fact that my computer ERASED MY ENTIRE FIC!!! It sucked because, well, this whole chapter was basically done. Ready for posting and everything!!!! And I didn't have a backup copy, yeah… I'm just pretty dumb like that. So I had to try and remember what I wrote for Chapter 7 and retype it again. Normally I keep all of my stuff in a notebook, but I dunno why I didn't for this chapter. I really wanted to cry. But no, I didn't abandon you guys. Oh and thanks for the reviews. Glad to see that this fic is bringing a warm ray of sunshine to your corner of the world. Sorry, but I had this urge to say something corny.

Enjoy!

Just as a reminder, I own nothing... just the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

****

**Chapter 7**

Two hours and some odd minutes later Chloe still had the dark red throw pillow pressed against her head. Towards the beginning of the movie she had decided that it would make a good ally in her constant battle to keep the endless stream of questions and comments from pouring out of Angel's mouth.

_Some help you were._ She thought as she threw the pillow back on the chair. During the course of the movie she had used the pillow to hit, throw, punch, and scream into, to no avail.

_He asks more questions than my dad does when we're watching The Simpsons. Which is one thing I'll never understand, how can you question a comedy?! Drama, and action is understandable, but a comedy? _

"How can you watch this?"

Chloe looked up from the pillow on the chair to her questioner.

"First of all, NO ONE bashes the glory that is Anne Rice. And two, what do you mean 'how can I watch this?' I couldn't **watch **anything with you commenting on every aspect of the movie."

"It couldn't be helped. Who still sleeps in a coffin?"

"That's the beauty of modern pop culture. Some things are just better off unquestioned."

"Of course there had to be a vampire that could read minds." Angel said, as if Chloe just hadn't spoken a second earlier.

"Remind me to never watch another movie with you as long as I live."

"And how did they have reflections?!"

"Yep. No DVDs, VHS, trips to the movie theater, web videos, presentations, basically any type of visual media."

A consistent trio of knocking stopped their conflicting argument and diverted their attention to the front door.

Chloe smirked, as she realized who was knocking, or who she **thought** was knocking at the hotel door. Her suspicions were answered when Angel flung the door open and three people nearly tripped over the threshold, of course the bags and boxes were the first to fall to the floor.

"Warn us next time you do that. It's not like I didn't already **HAVE** a headache courtesy of the Powers that Be." Cordelia put a hand to her already aching head. "Thanks for making it worse, and another thank you for scattering my precious **NEW** belongings all over the ground… again."

Angel sighed softly, before helping Cordelia up and going to pick up some of the fallen boxes. "Cordy, are you…"

"Before any of you start up the whole nurse routine. I'M FINE! I just need about a bottle of aspirin… and maybe some morphine and I'm fine."

"Shopping?" Angel said, diverting his attention from Cordelia as he went to retrieve a fallen bag. "What happened to seeing 'the other half of America'?"

"That's what we'd like to know." Wesley said, carrying three boxes in his arms as he went to grab a fourth.

"I couldn't help it… I had to have those cute black pumps in the window, and then there were the flip flops, and you guys saw that tank top? Even you guys would have to admit that you would try it on in a heartbeat."

"The hell we wouldn't." Stacking the boxes he had collected on a chair in the room, Gunn seemed to stop mid stride when she asked about the tank top.

"What I'm trying to say is that," Rolling her eyes at Gunn's comment, she continued. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"A little she says." Wesley said, reaching for another box.

"How are you paying for this?" Chloe asked, stacking two of the boxes on an adjacent chair.

"Oh. I'm not." Cordelia held up a gold plastic card.

Chloe walked over to Cordelia and examined the card closely. "Angel, I didn't know you had a visa?"

"What? That's my-?" Cordelia smiled somewhat proudly as she handed the card back to its speechless owner.

"Nicely done." Chloe said, before she stepped outside of the room to pick up the last fallen bag and reassure the other residents on their floor that her friends had been knocking at the door and she hadn't heard them because she had her headphones on.

After a few proclamations of "Kids, today", agitated sighs, and one, "My puppy just went to sleep," from the woman to the left of the hotel room who constantly eyed Angel like a piece of meat, Chloe returned to the room pulling the door shut with one hand and carrying a bright yellow flyer in the other. She leaned against the door for a brief moment before walking over to the oak table where the four other, erm people… well, three people and a vampire, were seated.

"Wow. In the mist of utter chaos that only a hotel building can provide, you somehow manage to come back with a huge amused grin on your face and a flyer. You're almost as spontaneous as… them." Cordelia made a grand gesture with her hand that was directed at Gunn and Angel. "Just don't start coming up with any kind of stupid foolhardy plans and you should be fine."

"My guys aren't spontaneous." Chloe paused for a dramatic effect, standing behind Angel and Gunn so she could drape an arm over each's shoulders, the fluttering flyer still present in one hand. "They're just… new weapon happy."

"Couldn't have said it any better." Gunn agreed.

"Wait, who has dumb plans?" Seeing how Angel had been eyeing the bright piece of paper that was fluttering over his right shoulder, it didn't come as too much of a shock that he had just now caught the end of Cordelia's statement.

"So, what's the back story on our little friend here?" Ignoring Angel, the canary colored flyer expressed the importance of each word as Chloe spoke.

"Chloe, can you-?" Angel reached above his head and snatched the still flapping flyer from Chloe's hand before anyone could answer her question.

"Hey! How do you know I didn't want to go to the _One Hundredth Annual Smallville Corn Festival_?" Chloe said, reading directly from the flyer, as she smiled to herself. This was so Smallvillan it wasn't even funny. "Maybe I want to be crowned the 'Queen of the Crop'."

"They weren't lying about the creamed corn capital of the world thing." Cordelia piped after a few brief moments of silence that could only be accomplished when one is truly disturbed.

_And the meteors, because there's no way we could forget those._ Seeing that she could no longer annoy Angel with the flyer, Chloe walked around the back of both chairs, and took a seat to the left of Gunn.

"Anyway, the demon. What did it look like?" Angel said, trying to get to the point as quickly as possible. He wanted to do something other than sit in a stuffy hotel room all day and watch movies about how humans thought Vampires lived their lives.

"Blond hair, blue eyes, but not peroxide blond… if that's what anyone's thinking."

Not noticing Gunn and Chloe's practically uncertain looks, she continued. "Anyway, it was dark, and the moon was out. So I'm guessing it was pretty late. There was this girl, umm, she was standing in a barn… a red barn, there was a field… and a windmill. The place looked pretty deserted."

_A field with a windmill? _Chloe's head shot up instantly, her eyes wandering back and forth contemplatively. _But it couldn't be… what are the odds that…?_

"You'd think the Powers would be a lot more specific when it came to the people that they want us to save. There's probably a hundred fields with red barns and windmills in this town."

God, there was only one abandoned field with a windmill in this town. _Chandler__'s Field._ Chloe's eyes went wide and fell. Why was everything that could happen, happening to her in just this one week? Maybe she was over thinking and they had to go and save a girl in some other small town with a windmill. Yeah. Because what were the odds, right?

"Where's a small town native when you need one?" Cordelia continued.

Chandler's Field. She didn't want to remember. Not after she had tried so hard to put that behind her. While she was living in Smallville she led everyone to think that the whole concept of being kidnapped and buried alive hadn't bothered her. She had been in a few bad scenarios during the four years that she lived here, a hostage at Luthor Corp, thrown from the Luthor mansion window, nearly burned to death in a fire in the Torch office, attacked by more than a few meteor freaks, infected by a parasite, rejected numerous times, beaten up by Lana, was almost ran over by Clark, and there was even this point where she could have sworn that she died. Not particularly in that order. And that wasn't even the gist of it, but of all of the events that had happened to her or people that she knew, the being buried alive thing was still the one that was the most traumatizing. There was just something about being six feet under, still alive in a coffin. It was worse than almost becoming some vampire's hors d' oeuvre.

"It could take us weeks to find that particular field without a guide." Wesley added.

"And by that time." Chloe could hear Gunn say from her right.

"We'll be too late." Angel said sadly, finishing the short game of round robin.

"It shouldn't be that hard to find." Chloe said more to herself than anyone else in the room. This keeping stuff from people track was really hard, and a guilt trip in itself. But she couldn't just out and tell them everything she knew about Smallville, especially now since she hadn't said anything about it before the trip. Somehow she had to get them to go to Chandler's Field without telling them about Chandler's Field. It wouldn't be too hard, Chandler's Field was basically a historic area in this town, the Chandler family once inhabited that particular plot of land since the 1800s. "Ask a few people, find a couple of maps. We'll find her." _And if we don't, before the sun starts to rise...__ I'll just cave and tell them where the field is. _

"Yeah." Cordelia added, showing that she also agreed with Chloe's way of thinking. "And you guys just wanted to sit there and mope."

"So when exactly did we all agree that my plans were stupid? Because that's not something I remember us taking a vote on."

"We should split up; we'll cover more ground that way." Wesley said, ignoring Angel's random side comments.

"No. I didn't-" Chloe tried to speak up and correct their little error. Splitting up was not a good thing...

"Then what are we waiting for? It's not like the demon's gonna shove a sword through its head and kill itself." Gunn said getting up from the chair and walking towards a medium sized black trunk that they had brought to store their various weapons in. He grabbed a throwing axe and slowly began walking to the door.

"But that's not what I…"

"I couldn't agree more." Cordelia picked up an axe and a stake out of the trunk before following Gunn out of the door.

Wesley also went to the trunk to select a weapon with Chloe tailing not far behind. Seemingly content with a crossbow and dagger he started for the door.

Chloe sighed, and just like the others headed towards the trunk, briefly scanning the remaining weapons. She then reached to grab a small sword from the disorganized pile.

It was kind of weird, in Smallville she would have never dreamed of learning to wield a sword, and up until two years ago she couldn't even pick up one of these. Let alone actually accomplish anything with it. But now with a little (a lot) of training, she know knew that the sword was a friend and it had gotten her out of more than a fair share of hopeless predicaments. She was far from being as good as Gunn or Angel, but she knew a few things. Shifting the sword to her right hand she too walked in the direction of the door. Why did she have the feeling that this wasn't going to turn out very well.

"You know we've gotten out of some pretty tough-" The end of the sentence lingered once Angel realized that there was no one left in the room. "Wasn't there a time when employees actually listened to their employers?"

* * *

"Um… I think this is it." The Plymouth screeched then halted as it came to rest across the street from the vacant field.

Surprisingly enough they had managed to find a map of the entire town within five minutes and after calling the other three members of their team, were already windmill searching.

Angel shook his head, disagreeing as he started the car again. There was nothing here but open plains for miles. "Chloe, I don't think this is it."

"Angel, just look at this place. It's a field and, look, there's a windmill."

"There's no barn."

He was right. There wasn't a barn. So the Powers were working in her favor. She was so happy, she felt like dancing, signing, something. But if she did that she was sure to get a 'what the hell?' look from Angel.

Dialing the number to Cordelia's cell, to tell them that coming to Chandler's Field would be a lost cause it hit her, if Chandler's Field wasn't the right field, what was?

* * *

Lurking in the shadows of the yellow farm house, a man watched as a dark haired girl rang the door bell.

He smiled to himself. He knew she would end up here, lucky for him no one was home. This would be too easy.

The man ran a hand through his dark blond hair as he began to follow the girl to the barn.

_Bad mistake girlie._

__

* * *

Lana wrapped the fleece throw that she had gotten from the couch tighter around her shoulders. She had come to the farm looking for Clark but no one was home. So now she waited in the loft for him to return.

So many things had happened during the past few days, and she hadn't exactly come to grips with any of it yet. Melody's death, Chloe having some grudge against her. She only wished she knew what that grudge was. She had a feeling that it wasn't something that was going to go away without hours of talking, especially after Chloe had stormed out of the diner that morning. She had already come to the conclusion that part of the problem lied with this Lindsey McDonald character, who was supposedly Chloe's cute, yet jealous, self righteous ex and still wanted to rip Chloe away from her current boyfriend, Angel. Lindsey and Angel? They didn't exactly sound like names of guys who Chloe would go out with. In high school she would constantly comment on the fact that Whitney's name was in fact a girl's name and should never be given to a guy 'regardless of the circumstances'.

She could only guess that the other half of the problem had to do with her, Clark, and now Pete.

Footsteps ascending up the loft stairs brought her back from her thoughts.

"Clark?" She turned away from the window, waiting for a friendly 'hi' from Clark. But the man who appeared at the top of the steps was far from being Clark Kent. It was only when she caught herself openly staring at him did she realize that he looked vaguely familiar.

_The man that was sitting in the Talon.__ What is he doing here?_

"I think you've got me confused with someone else."

* * *

"So you're positive this is the right place?"

She couldn't believe that she had forgotten that the Kent Farm had a windmill, a field and a red barn. How could she have forgotten? This had to be the worst week ever, somebody up there had to hate her, a lot.

Chloe glanced around the farm for any signs that the family was home. The lights were off and the truck wasn't in the driveway, it didn't look like anyone was home. Or maybe Clark was home and his parents were just away. Her heartbeat sped up at the very thought of the idea.

Angel shrugged and leapt over the side of the car, not even bothering to use the door. Chloe shook her head as she opened the car door; she was still trying to calm her heart's racing tempo before the vampire picked up on it. Sometimes being mortal really sucked.

"Has anyone ever told you you're the world's biggest drama queen?" _Okay, just try to act normal, uncaring even._ _A distraction might work._

"Once, in…" Angel glared at the blond before ringing the door bell. "I can't just be a moron with dumb plans I have to be a drama queen too?"

"What do we tell the people if someone's home?" Chloe said, wanting nothing more than to bolt down the steps to the car and forget about this whole savior thing. "I just don't think 'Hi, we think there might be a demon in your barn. Can we come in so we can kill it?' sounds like the sane answer."

"It doesn't look like anyone's home." Angel said, beginning to walk away from the farmhouse door.

_No one's home.__ That's good. We can just kill the demon and leave without having to talk to Clark._ Chloe nodded thoughtfully before following Angel down the porch steps and toward the red barn.

"Did you hear that?" Angel said, stopping just as almost as suddenly as he had begun walking.

"Hear?" Chloe stood perfectly still, trying to listen for whatever Angel had heard, which basically proved useless when you didn't have the hearing of a dog or a bat.

"I don't hear…" An ear piercing shriek shattered the quiet still cloak of night. "That?"

They both turned to look at each other, then raced off in the direction of the barn.

* * *

Angel reached the barn a full minute or two before Chloe did. He brandished a sword expertly, as he climbed the stairs to the loft.

The blond haired, blue eyed wonder from Cordy's vision was placing a raven haired girl on a couch in the open room. He pushed a few wisps of hair away from her face, reached for something around her neck, then turned away from the girl.

Under the light Angel could see that one side of the girl's face was bruised and her arm was bent in an odd angle.

"Vampire." The man whispered threateningly, which kind of came out as more of a snarl as he moved further away from the girl. "Find your own human. This one's mine."

"Oh. You think…" Angel said more to Chloe, who had just now reached the top of the stairs, than the other guy in the room. "He thinks I want to kill her."

"You don't have to worry about that…" Angel smirked mockingly, "I'm here to kill you."

It had taken Chloe a while to reach the loft. Partly because she had to call Gunn, Wesley, and Cordelia on her cell phone and tell them that they had found the 'thing' and partly because she didn't think she could bear being in the little loft. There were so many memories here, memories that she wanted to forget. Walking further into the room she couldn't almost believe who she saw lying deathly still on the couch. "Lana." It was a whisper that went unnoticed by the two men, demons, practically trying to kill the other.

This really wasn't her day.

She looked over at the fighting demons. Now wasn't the time to reminisce about the past, not when Angel needed her help.

She watched as Angel cleaved the sword into the thing's side. Whatever it was it didn't look fully human now. Not with it's prehensile tail and almost ape-like features. Chloe saw the demon's tail whip and bend wildly. Its hand clenching and unclenching behind the creature's back.

"Angel! Look out for its…!" Chloe yelled, but not before the monkey demon picked up Angel with the hand on its tail, throwing him into the barn wall shattering it. "…tail."

The demon reflexively jumped into the air and landed on the ceiling. It crawled over to where Angel was currently surrounded by smashed barn boards.

"Looks like the monkey knows a few tricks."

"Amused? Well you won't be." The monkey demon thing used its tail to try to grab the vampire but Angel sliced at it once again.

Chloe and Angel couldn't help the shocked expressions that conquered both their faces when the demon's wound disappeared a moment later.

Taking advantage of the situation, the demon grabbed its opponent with its tail, crushing the vampire into the wall.

Chloe fumbled with the crossbow, her only weapon since she had given Angel the sword before they had left the car. There was no way she could shoot that thing without getting Angel. She had to make a decision and quickly, but judging by the way it had just healed itself before, she doubted that an arrow would really leave a lasting impression.

"Think twice before challenging a god." Unknown to Chloe and Angel, a gold chained cross was pressed tightly in the demon's hand. Before either Chloe or Angel could blink, the creature had pressed the cross against the side of Angel's face while stabbing him in the stomach with his own sword. The cross burned into Angel's flesh emitting a low cry from the vampire before he vamped out.

"I heard the zoo is looking for a few more monkeys for its exhibit." The demon took a step back from the wounded vampire and snickered at the human girl. It was completely caught off guard when an arrow flew through its heart.

Unlike when it had been stabbed with the sword, the demon monkey guy made a sort of screeching sound and clutched the arrow piercing its heart violently. Chloe shot at it again with the crossbow in the same spot, producing another pitiful cry from the demon.

Before she could shoot it a third time, the demon bolted through the loft window.

The forgotten crossbow clattered to the wooden floor as she ran over to Angel who was still seated on the floor. Deep crimson blood began to soak through the front of his shirt.

She knelt down so she was sitting almost eye level with him. It was only then did he slip the human façade back into place.

It was stupid getting so worried over a vampire who would probably be as back to his old broody self by tomorrow morning, but it was sort of like an instinct. A friend gets hurt; and your natural response is to worry about them.

She gingerly placed a hand over the burn that the cross had left on the right side of his face. You would think that something as simple as a cross or holy water wouldn't have any effect on something as powerful as the undead. It didn't make any sense. She then let her hand drop to her side when she saw his eyes close. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Where'd it go?" Angel said, as he slowly got up from the floor, pulling the sword out of his impaled stomach as he did so.

"Through the window."

"What about… the girl?" He winced slightly as he stood all the way up.

"Uh, she's still unconscious." Chloe said, trying not to look back at where Lana was currently knocked out. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Chloe…" Angel started, but trailed off when he heard a smaller, softer voice also say Chloe's name. They both turned to the source of the voice and Angel could see the raven haired girl sitting up painfully on the couch. A puzzled look lit up her face.

"Chloe?"

* * *


	9. Chapter 8

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** With school starting I just don't have as much time to update as I did over the summer and it's my senior year. Ack! There's so much crap to do and to top that off I'm editor-in-chief and layout editor of my school paper and copy editor of the yearbook too. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Talk about hectic.

So anywho... enough about me. Yeah, uh, don't be too upset at me for this chapter. One, because it's extremely late (like you people have never been to school) and two, because I added a lot to a well loved (I think...) legend so it could fit into my story. _Don't kill me!_

Hopefully it's still 'fic worthy'.

And just for the record. I love Anne Rice novels, oh and The Ravenscliff Series. I really, really, really recommend them to anyone who loves a good horror/ fantasy story. Good stuff.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"Chloe?"

_God. Would two or three more minutes of unconsciousness be asking for too much?_

She closed her eyes briefly, relishing in what was probably her last sane moment for the rest of that week.

Her eyes fluttered open a few seconds later, and as her green eyes met Angel's she could clearly see the look of utter confusion present in those brown orbs.

"Uh. Lana?" She knew this situation was bound to come up eventually, she just didn't think that eventually would be now. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question." Lana stated with a pause as she looked around the loft for her blond attacker. Her eyes returned to Chloe and her tall, good looking friend but not before she caught a glimpse of Chloe's forgotten crossbow. "The blond that was here before..."

"He's gone." Chloe said, trying to look at anything, anywhere but Lana. Picking up her crossbow, she quickly began walking towards the loft stairs. "So I'll just be..." With those four words she bolted down the steps before either Angel or Lana could stop her.

Angel looked questionably between the dark haired girl, Lana, and the loft stairs.

"Chloe!" Lana started.

Chloe whirled back around at the sound of her name, staring up at both the vampire who, along with Cordelia, Gunn, and Wesley, she had come to think of as part of her family, and the girl who she had once considered one of her best friends. Having overstayed longer than she intended, she started towards the twinkling, dark abyss that spelled freedom.

"Chloe! Wait!" Lana called after her, edging her way off of the couch slowly. She gasped when her arm bumped the edge of the sofa. She had to find some way to stall Chloe, maybe if she could talk to Chloe for just a little while she could find out why Chloe refused to speak to them.

"She's not always like this..." Angel said before glancing at the loft stairs one last time, then going after Chloe.

Staring grudgingly at the steps Lana hesitantly followed the stunningly handsome stranger. Who was he anyway?

She had wanted Chloe to believe that she hadn't opened her eyes until after she had finished talking to her friend but she had seen Chloe drop some kind of crossbow thing and run over to the good looking guy. From what she could tell they looked like they were a little more than 'just friends'. She shouldn't have said anything and just pretended to be asleep. Maybe she could've found out more about Chloe and the mysterious stranger.

* * *

"Chloe..." When the girl in question didn't even acknowledge his presence, Angel grabbed Chloe's arm and spun her around gently so she was facing him.

"Chloe."

"Angel," Her voice sounded whiny with just an edge of annoyance and choppiness that he quickly picked up on. "Just..."

He stood unwavering despite the fact that she was trying to blink back tears.

Chucking sardonically, she wiped away the silent tears that were slowly trickling down her face.

"Look. I'm fine... okay." She kept her gaze on the ground as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"No you're not." He said, not letting go of his hold on her arm. Something had happened to her in this town, something that she didn't want to remember. "Something's been bothering you ever since we got here."

"Angel, do you always have to poke?" She started fixated at the ground, her tears making little spots of mud on the dirt road. "I'm... fine." Her voice was breaking and she knew it the moment the word 'fine' left her lips.

_I'm not going to break down and cry over this. This isn't a weep worthy dilemma. Just forget about Smallville... think about L.A. In a couple of days you'll be back in L.A. relaxing; if you want to call it that, at the hotel, helping some poor misguided soul. _

"Chloe..." Angel said seriously, his heartfelt gaze fell on the broken hearted girl. He only wished he could figure out what was wrong.

The tears began flowing rapidly down her face before Angel pulled her into his arms.

"Shhhh." Pulling the still sobbing girl to his chest, he rested his chin on the top of her head. "Shhhh, it's okay."

_What happened to you?_

* * *

Turning away from the hugging pair, Lana leaned against the wooden frame of the barn.

A befuddled expression assaulted her face as she clutched her injured arm. Figuring it would be better to leave the comforting vices to the guy in the black trench coat she went back to pondering. Somehow she got the feeling that she'd only make the situation worse and whoever the guy was Chloe seemed pretty 'chummy' with him. She had noticed it when she had first seen them in the loft. But who was he? A friend obviously, but there was definitely something different about him. You didn't take a sword through the stomach, get up and then go running out of a barn. Was he human, and if he wasn't... did Chloe know about it?

* * *

The melodic voices of a chorus of crickets could be heard in the cool night air as the door to the Kregburne Tavern opened and a blond haired man strolled into the dark, smoky little bar. Taking a seat at the stool he sighed heavily.

"Scotch, no ice." He told the round burly bartender, who looked more aggravated at the request than hospitable.

The blond closed his eyes against the bustling night life of the bar. Try as he might he couldn't get over the fact that he had almost been defeated that night. Surprisingly enough it hadn't been the half-breed that had almost, ALMOST, bested him. It was the human girl. He had no idea how she had ever discovered his weakness, it took most humans days or weeks to even figure that little bit of information out about him and normally they didn't live that long to even attempt to find out his weaknesses.

"Rough night, huh?"

The darkly dressed demon turned toward the sound of the human voice, taking a sip of his freshly acquired scotch.

"Something like that."

"I hear ya." The man sitting next to the blond demon god said thoughtfully.

"So I take it you have an annoyingly sarcastic vampire with a black trench coat after you too?" Normally the god wasn't nearly as cynical as he was being right now. There was just something about the girl and the vampire that really irked him and it wasn't merely the fact that he had almost been defeated by them. Besides, it wasn't like the stranger would believe him anyway; if anything he would think he was another deranged junkie seeking refuge from the streets.

_Humans, so naïve about the things of their own world._

The stranger didn't even give what the demon had said a second thought as he began to speak, "Actually I've got the exact same problem." He added brandishing an artificial hand. "The bastard cut off my hand."

He turned slightly, giving the stranger his undivided attention.

_Could it actually be possible that this human is familiar with the things of this world?_

There was something about this human; he wasn't sure what it was yet but he was almost certain that somewhere, hidden in that almost amicable human pretense, a dark and evil force was at work. He could smell evil like a vampire could smell blood.

"We have something in common then. His blond accomplice shot two arrows at me before... I left them." His pride had been damaged once that night, why make it twice?

"Blond accomplice?" Lindsey repeated, not having to think about the sketchy description too much. There was only one person staying in this town that he knew of that was blond and had a vampire as an accomplice, unless keeping a pet vampire was the newest craze in pet ownership.

_So, Chloe was lying yesterday at the diner. Somehow I'm not too surprised._

"She had short blond hair, green eyes, was about five-seven and enough sarcasm to fuel the sun for a millennia?"

"That sounds about right." The god paused, wondering how this man he had never met before knew his adversaries. "Do you know them?"

"Unfortunately, my colleges and I have run into their little team more times to count." Lindsey slid his business card across the counter and the blond man wasted no time in reading the information that was on it.

"_Wolfram and Hart, Attorneys at law_..." The man flipped the card over in his hand. "Attorneys, is it? I remember when it was still magic and sorcery."

"Trust me, nothing's changed that much." Wolfram and Hart was as evil, if you wanted to call it that, as ever. The only difference between the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart and Wolfram and Hart was that Wolfram and Hart helped defend their clients in the court of law. "Lindsey McDonald." He said extending the one hand that was still made of flesh and blood.

The demon accepted the other man's hand in a friendly hand shake that he had only recently discovered was human custom. Maybe if this, Lindsey, really was a messenger of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart he could help him. "Ahuizotl, but if I had friends I would be known as, uh, call me Lloyd."

"Lloyd." Lindsey repeated, still in disbelief over the coincidence. He had begun to suspect that this might have been the same guy that he had been originally sent here to find. There wasn't a chance in hell that Lilah was getting that promotion now.

"Yes..." The man clasped his hands together and a sadistic smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "I wish to know more about this vampire and his little blond friend."

* * *

"Happy?" They had driven around half of the town for thirty minutes, Chloe doing most of the talking other than Angel's occasional respective side comments. She had told him everything, from almost being burned alive in the Torch office, to the time she had served as a witness for Lex in the trial against his father and came home to a bomb. She wasn't sure how she and her father had survived that blast. She should have been dead, six feet under, sleeping with the fishes... and the weird thing about it was that he father still insisted on living in Smallville.

About twenty minutes into the thirty minutes that Angel had been driving around Smallville they had stopped at the little pancake house across the street from the Talon.

Chloe was munching on a piece of pancake, taking sporadic sips of coffee every now and then. Angel looked a little less comfortable with a freshly refilled cup of coffee. The waitress had already stopped by their table more than five times to ask if either of them wanted anything, and based on the frequent smiles and gazes Chloe could tell that there was a lot more on her mind than just coffee refills and pancakes.

"So now you know what lies behind the ecstatic façade of this small town..." Chloe lifted the coffee mug from the table and took a long, exaggerated sip from it.

"... and your 'ecstatic façade'." Angel said playing on Chloe's own words.

She glanced down at the table glumly, stirring the coffee stirrer that she had left in her caffeinated beverage almost automatically. "Yeah..."

Angel watched the girl sitting across the table from him. She looked so distraught, so lonely. He wished he could find her so called 'friends'; she could pretend like nothing was wrong but he wouldn't. They had better pray to God that he never met any of them. The very thought of anyone treating the cute, cynic reporter like she was something that could be used and then pushed aside, forgotten and ignored, made his cold blood boil and his demon growl. Sure, sometimes Chloe was inquisitive but most of the time she had everyone's best interest at heart. From what he could tell everyone thought she was a heartless journalist who cared more about getting the 411 on her friends than about their feelings.

"Chloe, if I would have known..." _How could I have been so... stupid? I should have picked up on it in L.A. She was acting pretty weird before we left the hotel and then a couple of days ago, and earlier this morning when she made me watch that... What the hell was that anyway? A vampire movie... riiiight. God, how do these people sleep at night? If I wanted to watch a load of crap like that Chloe could have just saved her money and we could have watched Glitter._

Angel watched distractedly as the piece of pancake that was currently attached to Chloe's fork twirled around and around. "Yeah, well, you didn't. So don't beat yourself up for this."

He looked at her innocently, avoiding her mind reading stare.

"Please Angel, I know you too well." She smiled brightly, the previous situation beyond her for the moment.

The bell on the front entrance chimed loudly, apparently regardless of the hour people still wanted their pancakes.

"I know you're not into the whole food thing." Chloe said standing up with Angel following her lead. "Are you sure you don't want..." She stopped mid sentence, holding up her plate with the remaining portion of her uneaten pancakes on it.

"Even if I was into the 'whole food thing'," Angel began walking to the still chiming door, "I don't think I would want to eat that."

"I say a few quotable things in my life and suddenly everyone wants to idolize them, and what do you mean you wouldn't want to eat that?"

He rolled his eyes at her sarcastic remark. You would think she would let up on the sarcasm a little, especially after he had bought her dinner. He would never understand why anyone would want to eat pancakes for dinner; there was something about it that just seemed wrong. "You picked over it."

"Oh right, because I have some fatal, incurable disease that vampires, who are immune to every kind of illness know to man, can contract." She said under her breath to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

"Something's making you hyper."

"That's really-" Her eyes scanned the friendly, café style pancake house. Partly because she was curious to see who was hanging out in the dinner crowd and partly because... she was curious to see who was in the dinner crowd. Her eyes stopped on a man sitting at the counter, for a brief second their eyes met. "Dad?"

"What?" Clearly Angel hadn't noticed the man sitting at the counter who was walking towards them.

"Chloe." The man said enveloping Chloe in a hug. "What are you doing her? When did you get in? Why didn't you call me?"

"Uh." _Some things never change. _"Dad..."

"Oh." Gabe Sullivan stepped back from his daughter, ending the reunion hug once he realized that he was squeezing her too tightly. "Sorry pumpkin."

"Daaaad." She whined, suddenly conscious of everyone else in the diner. It wasn't until she rolled her eyes at her dad's antics that she remembered an uncomfortable looking Angel standing behind them. "Oh! Uh, dad, this is Angel. Angel, this is my dad."

The two men shook hands; Gabe eyeing the newcomer, Angel, suspiciously. The guy didn't seem like someone his little Chloe would date, but maybe he was jumping to conclusions. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Dad!" Chloe protested, lightly shoving her dad's arm.

At his daughter's protests Mr. Sullivan let the subject drop, for now. There would be other opportune moments. "Chloe, you should have called."

"I would have. Everything was kind of spontaneous."

"Well, I'll let it slide... this time." He said teasingly. "I don't see how you can have much of a social life, working at that coffee place twenty four-seven and then interning for that paper."

"Yeah, because I've always been a huge social butterfly." She added cynically.

"Why don't you two c'mon back to the house? I ordered Chinese before I left." Mr. Sullivan said holding open the door to the front entrance.

"And you bought pancakes?"

"I got tired of waiting."

He walked through the already open door, expecting Chloe and Angel to follow him. It wasn't until he was halfway out of the door that he noticed that his daughter and her friend weren't behind him.

"Sorry about this." Chloe said remorsefully, and she really meant that. She knew how much the vampire hated social gatherings and the like, which included being antagonized by her father, and to top that off a demon had just tried to shred him in two. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"I don't think your father's going to let me roam free about the country without a thorough interview, background check, and investigation." Somehow Angel could picture Chloe's dad as the overprotective father who would occasionally threaten or shoot a guy or two if they randomly appeared at his front porch asking for Chloe.

"Okay, so we both agree that you should never be that sarcastic ever again? That was scary." She said, referring to his previous statement, "And you're overreacting, he's not that..."

"You kids coming?" Gabe Sullivan glanced at the two so called 'kids' from the door. "I even bought some of those barnyard animal shaped cookies that you love so much. You're right. They are addictive. I remember when you had that whole iced barnyard animal cookies phase."

"I couldn't get her to eat anything else for weeks and whatever she had to eat; she had to have those iced cookies with it." He said speaking directly to Angel. "She even wanted to build them their own farm and cried when... Chimpy's arm fell off. She named one of the monkey cookies Chimpy." He said speaking directly to Angel.

"Did she?" Angel smirked; half intrigued, half thinking up ways to use that little piece of information to his advantage.

"Dad!" Grabbing her father's arm, Chloe began trying to drag him out the door before the entire café heard about her embarrassing bout with the pizza at Chuck E. Cheese.

"Right." Following Chloe and her father Angel was beginning to think that things were either going to become really interesting or they would take a turn for the worse.

* * *


	10. Chapter 9

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Sorry. Another delayed update due to school, editor crap, college applications, and the like. The last year of high school. :sigh: I wish there was some kind of warning attached to this pivotal point in your life. Isn't my best work… but so many people wanted a new chapter.

**_Note:_** I was listening to _Everything_ by _Lifehouse_ while I wrote this… so any questions about fluffiness should be blamed on the above statement.

Oh and no offense to anyone who's a door-to-door salesperson, just writing what I think Chloe would think about door-to-door salespeople. So… don't kill me. :cries:

All info regarding Angel's age, dates of some events, etc. are from: http : members . aol . com / biglerdar / buffyangel . html (Without the spaces.)

Yep. I do my homework.

Just as a reminder, I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Chloe, I don't think your dad's going to be happy if he-"

"Angel!" Chloe said, cutting him off before he could even finish that ridiculous sentence.

Angel grew up in the eighteenth century she got that. They basically invented chivalry, but he was a two hundred and forty-eight... at least, she thought he was two hundred and forty-eight. Anyway, he was a two hundred and something year old vampire, key word in this sentence being** vampire**. He was at least two hundred and three years older than her dad, and it wasn't like bullets would kill him if her dad did decide to suddenly go overprotective parent on him.

Though she was a little surprised that her dad hadn't wandered upstairs to ask if they wanted anything to drink yet. Also known as his excuse to make sure that whatever was going on in her room was completely on a friend basis, 'G' rated, if you will. It wasn't that her dad didn't trust her; it was that her dad didn't trust guys being anywhere near his little 'pumpkin'. Personally, she didn't see what the huge deal was, if they were around her or not she wound up with a broken heart anyway.

"Trust me. If my dad thought that you were some potential threat to his role as chief Chloe supporter he would have killed you before we left the café."

"Chimpy." He chuckled, as he repeated the cookie monkey's name, remembering the story Mr. Sullivan had told him earlier about his little 'pumpkin muffin'.

"If you breathe a word of any of that to anyone, you'll wake up a pile of dust on your pillow." Eyeing him seriously, she tried to look as menacing as possible.

"If I'm a pile of dust on my pillow, how will I know I'm a pile of dust on my pillow?" Sometimes he wondered if Chloe even realized that she was often too sarcastic to be considered average, but then again none of them were really 'average', whatever one considered average to be.

"It was… just…" She stammered, "I'm going to go get the first aid kit."

Somehow during her wave of self-pity she had completely forgotten about Angel's injury. Returning from the pancake house, she had only just remembered the sword wound that she was so concerned about before, and after everything he had done for her, she felt horrible for just forgetting him.

Defeated, Angel sighed; there was no point in arguing now. Once Chloe had completely focused on something, nothing could change her mind. Like the time when she had insisted that he teach her Judo and Tai Chi, then practiced every spare moment that she could. It had only taken her two months to become pretty good at the forms. She never seemed to realize that it was that same determination that often got her into trouble.

Sitting on the pink, purple and green bed, he slowly he began undoing the buttons on the burgundy silk shirt, wincing when he attempted to shrug the shirt off his shoulders without doing further damage to the gash. _Was Chloe always this… girly?_

"Don't do that." She said reprimanding him the second she walked back through her bedroom door. Though she hadn't visited in a few months nothing had changed about the small suburban house in the middle of the nation's meteor capital. Nothing. The kitchen still had its same old homely glow, TV dinners stocked the freezer and refrigerator due to her and her dad's lack of culinary skills, even her room was exactly as she had left it, girly and artsy in every way, with the occasional bizarre news clipping scattered here and there along her walls. The only thing that had changed was Lana's room, what once was empty, was filled with the flowery yellows that were Lana's décor.

Setting the first aid kit on the purple flower shaped rug that lay a centimeter from the side of her bed, Chloe began digging through the kit, looking for something to patch Angel's dire looking wound.

"Chloe, you really don't have to do this. I'm fine. I'll be completely healed by tomorrow."

It wasn't until she had finished dabbing alcohol liberally on a gauze that she turned back around to face him and noticed that he was now seated shirtless, on her bed. Seeing Angel's naked torso wasn't anything new, she had seen him shirtless more times to count; practicing Tai Chi… training, and each time she would get like this.

By 'like this' she meant Clark around Lana, awkward, babbly, and klutzy.

She had first developed a crush on him when he had saved her from a vampire three years ago while she was walking home for a friend's house. She'd always had a weakness for the hero types, plus, it didn't help that he was really sweet and caring, and even funny at times, when he wasn't brooding. And even when he was brooding she still couldn't help but like him, it only added to his character. But they were friends, and she already knew how that always ended. Besides it would only complicate things and she didn't think she could handle not having Angel as a friend. _God, I'm such a sap._

"No Angel, I want… to." She whispered softly, as if something else was on her mind.

"Thanks…" She said, finally able to look into Angel's questioning gaze after the long lapse of silence that had followed her previous statement. Chloe continued tracing the gauze back and forth delicately across the slightly reddened skin on his taut stomach, trying not to give him the once or twice over with her wandering green eyes. "…for earlier. I didn't get a chance to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me Chloe." Angel's face contorted when she placed the gauze on a particular spot where the sword and been embedded in his stomach.

"Sorry." Her fingers brushed his exposed skin as she abruptly removed the gauze from the wound.

She looked down at the piece of cotton in her hand, its pure snowy color tainted with scarlet.

Angel's blood.

Why did she always have to fall for the ones that she didn't want to fall for? She wouldn't mind being shoved to the back corner of some shelf, forever labeled 'best friend', if it were only that simple. At least she had learned enough from her crush, which was more of a deep love than an actual crush, on Clark to know better than to try something as risky as admitting her feelings for a friend ever again.

Throwing the gauze in the wastebasket and forgetting how she had been starting hopelessly at it only seconds before, she ransacked the first aid kit one last time before retrieving another gauze and stack of bandages from it. There wasn't much more she could do. Thanks to that vampiric healing ability of his, the sword wound had already started to… heal. The bandages were for her own amusement really, but of course she wouldn't tell him that.

"So…Hello Kitty or Carebears?"

"How can I possibly choose between such good options?"

Had she looked up from raiding the first aid kit for bandages she might have noticed Angel's eyes following her every move.

Closing the first aid kit, Chloe turned around handing a fistful of bandages to Angel.

"Personally, I think the pink of the Hello Kitty band-aids would really bring out your eyes." Glaring, Angel grabbed a few of the Hello Kitty bandages from Chloe's outstretched palm, "Are these really going to do anything, or are they for your own personal amusement?"

"I'm shocked that you would even consider such a thing." Chloe said while she gathered the last of the first aid kit, leaving the room once again.

_She hadn't noticed._ Angel stared at the fuzzy looking purple rug by Chloe's bed. Not that he particularly wanted her to notice his reaction to her touch. Getting over Buffy was something that he didn't think would come so… easily, especially so soon. Okay, so maybe he still wasn't over Buffy exactly, she just hadn't been a reoccurring thought in his mind lately. Buffy was something akin to his soul mate, his first love, but she was nothing like Chloe.

Chloe was overly sarcastic, snarky, enough of a caffeine addict to put even Willow to shame, freakishly obsessed with investigative journalism, and she was the perfect mix of the 'research' type, and the 'crime scene addicted/I want to be where the action is' type. Let's just say she could make a good P.I. or a detective. The only thing that she and Buffy really had in common was the fact that they were both blonds.

When they were together he didn't think about Sunnydale and Buffy, he didn't think about who or what their next case might be, or about trying to atone for his crimes as Angelus. He didn't even think about his dreams of Darla that had become a routine part of his erratic sleep patterns as of late.

He thought about… Chloe.

He thought about how her witty remarks always brought a smile to his face, how she was rarely seen without a coffee mug, or Starbucks cup in hand. He thought about how she sometimes rambled when she was speechless, and how she always found out what he had gotten her for her birthday before her birthday. He thought about how her smile made him want to smile with her, how his heart broke to see her disappointed or hurt.

He knew this feeling, except it was different from the lust he had for Darla as Liam, and what was supposedly 'love' that he had for Buffy. He was falling for her. In spite of a hundred year old gypsy curse, an immortal existence, and a promise that he could never love anyone like he had loved Buffy, he was falling for the one person that he had never wanted to.

She came back, handing a grey t-shirt to Angel. "It's the only thing I could find that would match with your ensemble."

Angel smiled faintly before taking the shirt from Chloe.

"Gunn, Cordelia and Wesley are going to meet us back at the hotel. I told Cordy about 'the barn incident'. " Chloe said pretending to straighten a stack of magazines by her bed while Angel slipped the shirt over his head. "Guess I have some explaining to do."

Looking out of the corner of her eye to see if Angel had finished changing, she stood up from reorganizing the magazines and turned to face him. "I just wish I would have told you guys earlier."

"Chloe, you had your reasons." He sighed before continuing, "Maybe it would have been better if you had talked about it, but you did what you had to, to cope."

"Just remember that I-we're here for you." He said solemnly, searching her eyes to see if she had noticed his little slip-up.

"I'll remember that." She added smiling. It was hard to believe that underlying the charming, gentle depths of Angel's soul there was a ruthless, cold-blooded killer who was also known as the scourge of Europe for about a hundred and forty-five years. She had never met the guy and based on what Cordelia had told her about his rampage in Sunnydale she didn't want to.

"You know, you sigh way too much for someone that doesn't need to breathe." She smirked heading down the stairs. Trust Angel to save her from her own self-inflicted melancholy moods.

"Force of habit."

"I was wondering when you two would get down here." Mr. Sullivan said eyeing Angel warily; curious to see what the young man's feelings were when it came to his daughter. Returning to his home he realized that he knew nothing about this 'Angel' character. Chloe had never mentioned anyone named 'Angel' during any of her visits home or even during a conversation on the phone. Suddenly she just shows up in Smallville without as much as a phone call or email. And there was the fact that the guy looked a lot older than his little Chloe, well okay, not by that much, but that wasn't the point. He was supposed to know these things, who his daughter's friends were, who she dated…

Being so far away he worried about her. Especially in a city like L.A., who knew what kind of crime went on in a city of that size?

And wasn't that… his shirt?

No, something was definitely **not** right.

"Well, I'm here in one piece. You might want to call the National Guard back and tell that I was here the entire time." She sat down on the couch opposite her dad and gestured for Angel to do the same.

"My daughter, always the comedian." Turning off the TV, Gabe Sullivan leaned forward in the chair. Now for the fun. This kid would wish he had never heard the name Gabriel Sullivan by the time the night was over. "So, you still didn't tell me what the surprise visit was for Chlo."

_So that's where she gets the sarcasm._ Angel thought, watching Chloe and her father exchange wits. He couldn't help but think about his own father for a fleeting moment. Chloe never talked about her family much; he hadn't even known she was from this 'Smallville' place until about an hour ago. Chloe's father might have been protective about his only daughter, but he cared enough about her to be overprotective, which was more than he could say about his own father.

She looked at Angel for a moment before answering, "Uh… does a girl need an excuse to see her own father?" She ended the sentence with a smile, trying to look as sincere as possible.

"Uh huh." Gabe said skeptically. It wasn't that he doubted Chloe; this situation just didn't seem like something that his daughter would do. She wasn't the most organized person in the world, but she always called before a visit and told him everything that happened in college, well the important things anyway. At least, he thought she told him everything. "Well, I-"

The doorbell picked that particular moment to spring nosily to life, splintering the uncomfortable silence in the room and ending Mr. Sullivan's next question as he got up to answer it.

"Sorry again." She whispered once she was certain her dad wasn't in hearing range, "I never realized that my dad was so… defensive."

Angel shrugged, "Can't say I didn't tell you so."

"Riiiiight." Her trademark cynicism shone almost blindingly through that simple statement. "So are we ready to go? Since I told my dad that we'd already eaten at the pancake house there's really no need for us to stay. Wouldn't want my dad to question you for the next three hours."

"You're not…?" Angel paused, confused at Chloe's proposition to leave. "I thought that you were going to stay here tonight."

"What? Angel, this isn't exactly the best time for a nice long chat with tea and crumpets, not with Boots the evil monkey running ramped in the streets." She stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. _There's a crazed, angry, and possibly psychotic demon lose and he asks why I'm not here to 'catch up'._ "This could be the biggest thing since that Deevak demon guy, which no one bothered calling me about, or that telekinetic… whore."

Her face scrunched up somewhat at her hushed assumption. She had her doubts about the runaway girl when they first met her. There was something about her that had just screamed wrong. Her intuition had proven correct when Angel had told her about Bethany's visit to his bedroom one night. Of course, he hadn't just out and told her, it was during a 'how to help poor, scared, little Bethany' session. Never had she felt more envious, frustrated, and irritated at anyone in her life. Just speaking to the girl was a strenuous challenge.

"We did. I remember you saying something about it being the start of summer break and you didn't have to go to class that morning."

"Yeah, and I remember waking up from my state of delirium five hours later, feeling like I was forgetting something that might be really important. Then I remember checking my voice mail and wondering why you hadn't thought of yelling at me to 'wake up' like most people." _Wonder who's at the door. Dad's been gone a pretty long time; it's probably just some salesperson who can't understand 'no' for what it means. _

"I don't know if anyone's told you this but you're not exactly the-" His eyes danced around the room, hopping from photograph to photograph of Chloe, trying to imagine what that cheery face would turn into if he told her the unabridged version of what she was like on a morning without a detour to Starbucks. _No, can't say that._ "Without your coffee you're kind of-" _Better not say that unless I want her glaring daggers at me for the rest of this trip. _"You're not really a morning person, Chloe."

She smiled, which sort of scared him. The last thing he was expecting Chloe to do was smile. Sarcasm, anger, something other than the smile that she gave him. Smiles usually meant that she was planning something.

"Okay, well, I have to tell my dad 'bye', then it's the open road." Chloe said, walking off towards the corridor where her father was still talking to the unnamed visitor. A duffle bag in hand, she was already planning the perfect escape.

"Something's come up." She began speaking before she had even gotten to the door. _Nice going brain. Some perfect plan._ Glancing over her shoulder to make sure than Angel was still behind her was a distraction lengthy enough to cause her to almost run into her father, and to not notice Clark and Lana standing in the doorway talking to him. "Sorry that I can't stay- Clark?"

No this was worse than someone "up there" hating her. Someone "up there" wanted to make her life a living hell, or close to it.

* * *

**Author's****Note:** See, very um… fluffy. Kinda pointless. I promise the next chapter will be a lot better. I just noticed that I hadn't written anything in like a month sooo…

* * *


	11. Chapter 10

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** More fluff! And just in case anyone may be wondering this probably won't turn out to be a Lindsey/Chloe fic. Preferably, I like evil Lindsey better than good Lindsey… something about the whole evil thing. It just makes him really… hot. So uh, yeah. Anywho, thanks for the reviews! You guys rock!

Oh and I'm sort of mixing legends and folklore and my own ideas to create my very own… _:fan__ fare: _demon god. Hopefully no one will mind too much.

I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"So… her name is Chloe Sullivan?" Lloyd began stuffing various essentials for round two against the vampire into his bag. Thanks to the lawyer from the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart he now knew more about the vampire, Angel, and his cohorts. The blond girl's name was Chloe and she was from this region. Her father, Gabriel Sullivan, lived in this very town as a matter of fact. The lawyer from the tavern, Lindsey, had been correct; though the time had charged the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart had not.

The Wolf, the Ram and the Hart had agreed to help him find some way to stay in his demon form if he managed to kill the vampire, which he had no objections to. The vampire was proving to be more than a pest, and though the human mask helped him to blend in with the incompetent mortals and grab a decent meal every now and then, it was repulsive. A god should never be made to walk around in human guise. It was a flaw, a defect, something that should have been mended when he was released from his vessel, that horrid Egyptian Urn that had sealed him away for millenniums. But thanks to the clumsiness of an archeologist he was free to roam this world once again. Not many were familiar enough with the ancient texts and spells to banish him, and those that had once been foolish enough to lock him away had been dead for more than forty centuries.

"Bested by a woman." A twisted, morbid smile stretched across his face, "Not likely, Ms. Sullivan. Before the night is over you and everyone you care for will be dead."

Hefting a steel bladed battle axe over his shoulder, Lloyd turned off the light and stepped outside the door of his hotel room. "You will soon learn, you all will."

* * *

"Clark, Lana… hi." Her eyes set on the pale blue carpet, Chloe didn't notice Angel analyzing her reaction to the raven haired girl from the barn earlier and a tall dark haired guy that was making Chloe's heart race. He could almost hear his demon growl. This had to have been Clark. The moron who broke his Chloe's heart continually, who left her at her spring formal for the girl standing next to him, who obviously didn't see the beautiful, quirky blond that was right in front of him. Wait, when did she become HIS Chloe? 

"Lana and Clark just came from Smallville Medical, Lana had a broken… wrist?" Mr. Sullivan said a bit skeptically, he couldn't remember if it was her wrist or her arm, since her entire forearm was in a sling.

Lana nodded a little too enthusiastically as she attempted to stare inconspicuously at the handsome stranger from earlier. Needless to say, a somewhat stifled smirk from Chloe made her realize just how much she was failing at the staring inconspicuously thing. Who was he anyway? He was rather tall, built, and he certainly wasn't lacking in the looks department. Even the blind could see that he was gorgeous. He had the most beautiful shade of dark colored eyes that complimented his somewhat spiky brown hair perfectly. He was ghastly pale, but that little fact only seemed to add to the masterpiece that was standing before her.

"Come in, come in." Gabe said animatedly, ushering both Clark and Lana into the house.

"Well dad," She was getting a kick out of Lana's reaction to Angel. Maybe she was enjoying the situation a little too much. _God, Lana could you be anymore obvious? She might as well openly gawk at him, since she's practically undressing him with her eyes! Okay, so… that little thought shouldn't be there. _"We'd better hit the road."

_We'd?! Did she say 'we'd' as in 'we had'!? It's okay Gabe, she's just been away from home so long she forgot that I'm not going to let her go anywhere with that boy until I've gotten some background information on him first. There's just something not right about him._ "Well, I was…" Gabe fumbled over his words, searching for a way to get Chloe to stay without actually telling her he was trying to keep her preoccupied at the house. "I was just inviting Clark and Lana in. I thought the three of you might want to 'catch up', especially since you haven't been home in what… a year?"

"Oh…" Chloe furrowed her brow into a frown. How was she supposed to get out of this one? Wasn't it bad enough that Clark and Lana had mysteriously appeared at her front door? Well, maybe she did forget about Lana in her haste to escape the Kent's arrival to their own farm, but the last thing she needed was a recount of the previous three years of her life in Los Angeles with her two former friends. "Um…"

"You two wouldn't want to stay for coffee?" Gabe hurriedly added, using the age old coffee card to his advantage.

"And apple pie." Lana offered, "Mrs. Kent asked us to bring it to you."

"Sort of as a welcoming home gift." Clark said, presenting the white cardboard box to Chloe. Biting her lip, she accepted the gift from Mrs. Kent. Not Clark, Mrs. Kent.

"You know, coffee just isn't coffee without a slice of Mrs. Kent's homemade apple pie." For some reason her dad's coffee and pie comment scarily reminded her of a slogan for something… mayonnaise maybe?

Chloe's eyes nearly rolled out of her head, they were collaborating, together. That was just terrifying.

"Uh… I." _C'mon Chloe just say something! Anything!_ "Huh. My cell phone's ringing, better get that. Angel could you, uh, help me by putting the pie in the kitchen?" She cleared her throat a little and silently mouthed the words 'back door' to Angel when her father, Clark and Lana weren't paying attention. "I'll get the coffee!"_ That works. Hopefully he'll get it._

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed Angel following behind her to the kitchen with the pie box that she had handed him. So clearly he had caught onto her little backup plan.

"Like I've always said you can't have coffee without pie or pie without coffee." Angel could hear Mr. Sullivan say, even though they were two rooms from the hall and the front door.

"Why do you do that?" Angel said once they were out of ear shot of everyone else.

"Do what?" Taking the box from Angel she placed it on one of the wooden counter tops near the kitchen sink.

"Pretend like everything's okay, like nothing affects you. You can't kept running away and lying to them; you're going to have to face them eventually."

"I know. I know. I just." She walked toward the back door, and opened it slightly. With a huff she sat down heavily on the porch step. "Angel, do we have to talk about this right now?"

"No." With a sigh he sat down next to her. He was beginning to regret ever taking this case. It seemed like the more that he learned about the quaint little town the more he learned about Chloe's past. Just being in Smallville was ripping her in two. With every tear, every sad look, every time she spent hours locked in her room, he came closer to forgetting about the renegade demon and calling it quits. Nothing was worth her happiness. Nothing.

He wanted more than anything to be the one to make her happy, to hold her while she cried, to run his fingers through her soft, blond hair, to see her reaction when he nipped and kissed along her jaw line and neck and told her that he loved her. He did… love her. Darla may have haunted his dreams, but Chloe haunted his waking thoughts.

But he wasn't allowed to love, well, love unconditionally. He had learned that about a while ago in a place called Sunnydale with a girl named Buffy. All it took was one moment of pure unadulterated happiness and his soul was gone. "We don't."

"Again with the sighing thing?" Chloe laughed, looking at her reflection in the shiny lawn table.

She didn't feel like laughing. Why did she even try to pretend anymore? Clark, Lana. Lana, Clark. During the four year span of her high school career, Clark and Lana had found more ways to hurt her than anyone ever had in her entire life, and yes, it did hurt. No more lies, no more sucking it up.

For once she would love to be five again, running to her father, depending on him to make everything better. At five she thought her dad could do anything. If she had a problem at school, dad would always be there; when she fell off of her bike at six, dad was there helping her back up, but this wasn't a problem that could be fixed with some antiseptic and a band-aid.

This was one of those things that dad wasn't around for. Like the time Clark had left her at the spring formal, or the time Clark had practically seduced her in the Torch office and then just brushed her off like she was absolutely nothing to him, or when she found out that her mother was really in an asylum and that she hadn't actually abandoned them. But she had learned to stop feeling sorry for herself a long time ago; the water works never solved anything.

Then why were there tear drops trickling down her face?

"We should probably…" Keeping her head down, Chloe eyed a small, polished green rock on the lawn. She got up slowly and steadily, praying to God that the tears would stop, and that they would have a quiet ride back to the hotel. This walk down memory lane was killing her, and being here, at her dad's house wasn't helping matters.

"Yeah. They're probably out searching for us right now."

When she didn't respond Angel walked up to her, pulling her tightly into his embrace. With one wracking sob she buried her face in his chest and clung to him for dear life. He wondered if it was slightly wrong that he was the one comforting her as he stroked her hair lovingly. So close and yet… so far.

Seconds turned to minutes before Chloe finally lifted her head from Angel's shirt. This was the second time tonight that she had cried in front of him. Only this time she had managed to get the front of his shirt wet with her tears. "God. You must think I'm pretty pathetic." She said sniffling, and trying for one of her trademark 'I'm okay… really' laughs, it was the one that she always used whenever she attempted to bury a bad situation. Her eyes were still bloodshot and her face was clammy. Turning away from him she wiped at her eyes furiously with the backs of her hands.

For some reason she never tried to hide what she was feeling when she was with Angel. Even if she had wanted to, it was almost impossible. She only ended up telling him anyway. She had never been so… open with anyone before. It scared her, more than she'd like to admit. Not that many people could actually claim to bear witness to a sobbing, distraught Chloe without her drawn guards and her merciless wit.

* * *

"Coffee, huh?" Clark said, once Mr. Sullivan left for something that he had forgotten by the door. 

Clark had been watching the hugging pair lividly from the Sullivan's kitchen window. Not only had she lied, but she was in the arms of some stranger that he-, they barely even knew.

"Hmmm…" Staring out of the same window Lana couldn't help but smile at the scene. Chloe deserved to have someone who loved her completely. The reporter had always had a thing for Clark and even though she had insisted that she was fine with the whole idea of the two of them going out, Lana had never fully believed her. It was good that she had found someone, even if Lana was more than a little attracted to him. "Are you jealous Clark?"

"Jealous?" Clark's expression changed to that of offence at the idea. "No. I just… I'm only…"

"Worried about her?" Lana smirked mockingly. "Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be fine. Not every guy that wanders into her life is out to hurt her."

Clark looked sheepishly away from Lana. Sure. Why let someone else do what you can do yourself? He knew he had hurt Chloe frequently over the years that he had known her. A lot of it couldn't be helped, though some of it could.

Lana faced the window and couldn't help from pushing back the pale green drapes and looking out it again. It seemed like one of those things that you would do after a really intense conversation. _Wait. Who… is… that?_

She knew the man that was crouched, partially hidden in the oak tree in Chloe's backyard.

"That's him. The guy who attacked me earlier." Lana said from beside Clark. Why was she always victim number one to the local town lunatics? Even on her vacation? "I was 'out' for a while, so I don't really remember too much of what happened. When I woke up he and Chloe were there." She said looking misty eyed at Angel.

* * *

"Chloe…" Chloe looked up from swatting away at her face at the sound of her name. She glanced at Angel and then her father who had "coincidentally" called her from where he stood on the porch the same time Angel had. 

Angel knew that Chloe's father hated and distrusted him for one reason on another, but couldn't he have one moment to talk to her without someone interrupting?

"I was a little worried when you didn't come back with the coffee and pie." Her father, always protective. It was sweet, it really was, but she was surprised she was allowed to even breathe air without her dad worrying about the level of CFCs and other pollutants that could possibly harm her. "Everything okay pumpkin?"

She moved away awkwardly, still trying to get her bearings. Being slightly overprotective he might get the wrong idea about Angel if he saw her with tear trails running down her face. Especially since they were outside talking and she already got the idea that her dad thought that Angel was her boyfriend, or fiancé, or something to that effect. "Yeah dad, I just thought I would show Angel the Koi pond." She lied, but it wasn't really a lie. They did have a Koi pond and the whole reason that she was even out here was to show him the Koi pond… well, it had been the reason.

Gabe nodded slowly, still a little skeptical of the situation. He wasn't as easily fooled as Chloe thought. He could tell when his little girl had been crying. He was her father for crying out loud!

"Well this may sound a bit spur of the moment, but something's come up." Gone was the defenseless, innocent, weeping damsel in distress that Angel always ended up helping one way or another, and in her place stood the unflappable, intrepid façade, the girl who Chloe wanted everyone to think she was.

"Uh huh." Mr. Sullivan sighed to himself, he would play her little game for now, "And what exactly would this little 'spur of the moment' thing be?"

Chloe really couldn't think of anything to use as a legitimate excuse. Everything that came to mind either seemed overly sensible or ridiculously senseless.

Fortunately, she didn't have to think of an explanation that much longer as a black trench coated figure jumped from the roof of her once permanent home and landed on the ground next to the Koi pond.

The figure stood up swiftly, his deep blue eyes gleaming in the light of the full moon. "This time I will not be defeated so easily."

Chloe wanted to scream in exasperation until her throat was raw and the only sound that she could make was a soft squeaking, if any sound at all. _I don't know how many more of these bad coincidences I can take._ "That."

* * *


	12. Chapter 11

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reviewing guys. Sorry about the wait for the update. (Ha! That rhymes!) Senior year… gah! It's hell, but fortunately hell is getting a lot better. One of my friends is starting a band and asked me to play lead guitar. YEAH! Can't wait… it's going to be AWESOME! So between school, work, and band practice hopefully I'll be able to update a lot more. Don't worry… I promise I won't abandon this fic. I'll finish it if it kills me.

I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**  
Chapter 11**

"Chloe and Angel sure have been gone a long time." Typing in a description and clicking the 'search' button on the main page of the demon database on her laptop for the fifth time that night, Cordelia decided to take a much-needed break and headed over to the donut box. "I hope they're having better luck on finding this demon thing than we are. I got nothing."

"It's almost as if it doesn't even exist." Picking up another text from the enormously tall stack of books on the dining table in Cordelia's hotel room, Wesley began to flip through it aimlessly. It had been over two hours and no one seemed to be getting any closer to finding anything on the demon that Chloe had described.

"Well, I'm not doing any better." Gunn added, setting the book that he had been skimming through on the table before he went over to the counter and the Dunkin Donuts Box.

"Chloe said that they would be back over an hour ago. So either they ran into pretty boy demon guy, or they're making with the smoochies on some abandoned pier, or… park bench, since there probably wouldn't be a pier in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. Sorry, I'm in Kansas but my brain's still in Los Angeles." Cordelia said, biting into her raspberry jelly filled donut.

"What?!" Wesley sputtered; spilling hot coffee all over the research files that were scattered across the table in the room. Gunn remained silent but his chocolate glazed donut slipped to the floor.

"Oh c'mon. Don't tell me you guys haven't noticed the looks Angel gives her when he thinks that none of us are looking." Cordelia placed the donut next to her laptop and nonchalantly sat down in the chair in front of her computer. "I've seen it before. It's the same look that he used to use whenever he was around Buffy, only in a more intense, brooding … wait."

"Cordelia, I think you're reading too much into this. Angel's relationship with Chloe is strictly work related." Wesley paused. "And even if it isn't, what business of ours is it?"

"Aha. So you admit that I'm right."

"I never said that you were right. I'm merely saying that whomever Angel chooses to share a romantic interest in is not our business."

"Please Wesley." Cordelia said with an agitated sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Stop denying the inevitable! I've seen Angel when he gets the doe-y, 'I love you but I can't be with you because of some stupidly unfair hundred year old curse that turns me into Mr. Big Bad, leather pants wearing, evil vampire the moment I'm on happy high' eyes. It's not like I didn't have to put up with it the whole time I was in SunnyHell."

Gunn simply shook his head and went back to researching. Right about now he would rather find inexistent information on a million demons than listen to the two of them argue.

* * *

For once in his eight years of living in Smallville Gabe Sullivan was speechless. He had seen a lot of things while working as a plant manager at LuthorCorp, but nothing like the talking monkey man that was advancing on her daughter's friend. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but maybe the 'monkey' was a good thing.

"I have to confess to not have taken this evening's events lightly, Ms. Sullivan."

Chloe frowned, then asked the question that had been burning in her mind. "How did you…?"

"Know your name?" Lloyd smiled broadly and mockingly, "I know all your names. I know where you live. I know that you're a journalism major with a minor in history. I know that your middle name is Alissa. I know where your mother resides. I know all."

"I think that would border on the line of being a stalker and slightly psychotic." Chloe hoped the sarcastic quip would be enough to give her dad the time to escape safely back to the house, but seeing how he was just standing there with a sort of stunned look on his face told her that he hadn't quite gotten the message.

"Or someone in desperate need of a hobby." Angel muttered, knowing that the monkey demon would hear him anyway.

"Amusing, really." Lloyd stopped, turning to look at the 'crowd' of people gathered on the porch. Too easy, and surprise, surprise, it was the girl from earlier. "Looks like we have an audience for the show." He smiled to himself. This would be fun. "Shall we?"

"Why don't **you **fight your damn shadow, and **I** go back to my hotel and take a nice, long soak in the tub and try to put the horrors of this day behind me. I just got these rose scented soap petals that I've been **dying** to try out." Needless to say seeing the demon guy twice in one day was only exceeding in making Chloe even more pissed off.

"They said you were sarcastic. Although, I did not think this much." Lloyd laughed.

_They? Who was…? Wolfram and Hart._ Chloe realized. If they were involved then so was… _Lindsey. _He had to have been the one who gave demon boy the information. There was no way he could have figured it out on his own in a couple of hours. _Good old Lindsey. _

Whatever that thing was it obviously wasn't here to make idle conversation with the locals. Gabe's brain was telling him to go back to the house with everyone in tow but his legs seemed to have a mind of their own. He had to get Chloe away from it... from whatever it was.

"You see, I tend to develop grudges easily. Why do you think I have been after the blood of those that locked me in that Urn, the descendents of those who were responsible for the millenniums of my life that I have missed? I could have been wreaking havoc on the world, but** I** was trapped in an urn. Do you understand how embarrassing that little tidbit of my life is at a party? And it seems to be a popular conversational topic. Why do you suppose that is?"

"I can imagine." Angel said dryly.

"Angelus." The demon said, like he was greeting an old friend, not a sworn enemy, "Your reputation precedes you. It's a shame we did not meet eighty years ago before you acquired that pesky soul. What if I killed the girl… then we hunted down the last of your cursers' descendents and killed them?"

"Wow. You really **do** love revenge." Chloe commented sarcastically.

"Lana, go get Sheriff Adams." Clark whispered, the sheriff probably wouldn't be able to do anything, but it was enough to remove the traumatized girl from the scene and offer a diversion while he made use of his powers.

"If anyone goes anywhere," The god whirled around to face Clark and Lana. "You will all be killed." If he hadn't been paying so much attention to the surprised expressions on their faces, and to what was going on around him he would have been prepared when a fist caught him across the chin.

The blow from the vampire was enough to swivel his head completely around.

"A 'no' then?" Lloyd said, wiping dark reddish-black blood from a split lip. "That is a pity."

"Chloe, take the others and get inside!"

Chloe looked at the vampire a moment longer, nodded, then turned on her heel and attempted to usher everyone inside.

"Does no one listen anymore?! Not even to a god?" The demon feigned agitation. "This world truly is a horrid place."

"Do you take my threat for a lie?" All it took was a second for the demon to have Chloe in his arms and his hand anchored around her throat. "How easy would it be for me to snap her neck Angelus? Take her life? You waste your time saving mortals."

"Chloe!" Everyone, including the girl with the broken arm, was off of the porch and into the yard when Lloyd grabbed her by the neck, his hand quickly closing over her windpipe. His malicious smile grew even wider as he watched them. This was most enjoyable.

Every ounce of restraint that Angel had left faded once he saw that the monkey had its disgusting claws around Chloe. Scarlet streams of her blood pooling around its fingertips did nothing but fuel the vampire's rage. Right now he didn't care about anything or anyone else; there was only Chloe. He had to get to Chloe.

In a vampire-like leap, Angel caught the demon off guard and landed a swift kick to god's side causing him to release his grip on Chloe long enough for her to slip away. With her hand she covered the fatal looking gashes on her neck and scrambled off of the ground, away from the impending fight.

"Two children of darkness engaging in battle, against each other. One would say that we should be on the same side, the situation is almost laughable. " The demon god stuck one finger, red with Chloe's blood, in his mouth in an almost mocking way, savoring the taste of her blood. "Give in vampire." He smiled, "Don't tell me you haven't thought of it; killing her, taking her blood. Believe me; it tastes as good as it looks."

"I'm thinking about killing you right now." Angel said seriously, hitting the monkey god across the cheek.

* * *

"Chloe. Chloe!" Mr. Sullivan ran over to his daughter, hugging her in a tight embrace. "God, Chloe. Are…? I…? What's going on? Never mind, the most important thing is getting you to a hospital and calling the sheriff."

"N-no." Chloe's hand was still wrapped around her throat trying to staunch the blood flow. "I've… h-had wo-orse, and A-angel..." She said, struggling to form a sentence. God it hurt. It was almost like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her repeatedly in the throat, then rubbed salt into the wounds. Nothing she did would stop the blood from flowing. Maybe her dad was right; maybe she should go to the hospital, but… Angel. She couldn't just leave him with… No. She wouldn't leave him. Not after everything that he had done for her in this godforsaken town. Not her Angel.

Why was she so… dizzy? She was walking somewhere… why couldn't she remember? She felt a pair of strong arms lift her from the ground and her head was rested against a warm, solid chest.

"Mmhmm… Angel." Chloe's voice was almost a content whisper as she closed her eyes in her semi-conscious state, and snuggled closer to the person carrying her.

Clark tensed visibly at his friend's declaration, then laid the unconscious girl in the passenger's seat before turning to go back to the Sullivan house.

He was tempted to go with Chloe and Mr. Sullivan to the hospital, just to make sure that Chloe would be all right; but he was pretty curious about the monkey man and Chloe's friend Angel who the monkey had referred to as a… vampire. But that was impossible. Vampires didn't exist.

* * *

Lana cradled the phone in her hand from the safety of the Sullivan's kitchen window as she watched Angel fighting the giant monkey creature. She had to have been imagining things, the man that she had seen earlier in the Talon and at the Kent farm had somehow transformed into… that. Well, she did have a concussion, so maybe…

Did she imagine it? Did she imagine Chloe being held captive, or the monkey's claws gorging into her friend's neck? It seemed real enough to not be a figment of her mind.

What she didn't understand was why Angel was still there? Why didn't he run off like everyone else? She had often noticed that Clark did the same thing whenever some crazed psycho went on a killing spree. He was often the last to leave or he was always the first one to lead the rescuing committee. It was **definitely** some kind of hero complex thing. Well, he wouldn't have to worry about playing the hero for too much longer, Sheriff Adams was on her way.

* * *

"Tsk. Tsk." Lloyd almost laughed at how easy victory had come to him. He couldn't help but marvel at his almost forgotten strength and speed as he held the vampire above the ground with one hand, a wooden cross in the other. He always enjoyed torturing his victims before actually killing them, it was particularly the highlight of a really bad day, and vampires were no exception. "And this is the so called 'Scourge of Europe'?"

"Go to hell." _What is it with this guy and crosses?_ Angel thought, watching the demon's mouth move. He was speaking but Angel was too focused on escaping to understand what he was ranting on about. _Spare me the long boring speech and just kill me already._ Hopefully Chloe had gotten to the hospital by now. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her. He wouldn't be able to go on.

"I sincerely hope your little girlfriend gets treatment in time, though I doubt it really. She'll lose a lot of blood before she even gets admitted to a treatment facility. I'd give her fifteen minutes, thirty if she's lucky, but very few are."

"If she dies…" He growled warningly. If it wasn't for that damn sword wound that he had gotten earlier, maybe he wouldn't be here waiting for monkey man to kill him. The wound had somehow reopened when he had been fighting the demon god.

"If she dies you'll what, soon join her?" Lloyd waved the cross dangerously close to Angel's face. "You shouldn't be alive for much longer."

"Then stop talking about killing me and kill me."

The demon smiled. Had the vampire given up this easily? A skewed look flashed across his features. _What is that…? _Lloyd turned his head slowly, examining his back._ Smell?_ He jumped, dropping his captive. Somehow, a witch had slipped past his senses him and managed to set him on fire. That was the only explanation for it. The Powers obviously still had plans for their warrior. Damn them.

In his yelping and screaming haste to get away he didn't notice the tall shadow of a figure standing in the dark.

* * *

Gabe took a seat in the tan recliner next to his daughter's hospital bed. This certainly wasn't the first time she had been admitted to Smallville Medical and it probably wouldn't be her last. Her watched her eyes moving beneath her eyelids and leaned back in the chair. He still hadn't been able to figure it out. What was that, and why had it been so insistent on getting his daughter? A chill ran up his spine as he remembered the creature's hideous face. It moved like a primate yet spoke like a human. Could it be the missing link? It sounded off, even as he sat there and thought about the situation. But what did the monkey mean when it called Chloe's friend, Angel, a vampire? It couldn't have actually meant 'vampire' in a murderous, blood sucking, shape shifting, Dracula kind of way. Could it? No, that was just blurring the lines of reality. It was ridiculous. Besides vampires were creatures that only existed in books and movies, obviously the crazed man in the monkey suit had been reading too many of Anne Rice's novels.

The doctor had given Chloe a coagulant, and some morphine for the pain. She was sleeping silently now thanks to the effects of the medication. He tucked the blankets around her in a very fatherly-like motion before leaving the room for the hospital cafeteria. Reaching the end of the hall, Gabe pressed the down arrow for the elevator. A lot of what Chloe experienced shouldn't have happened to any one, especially at such a young age. Few people could be kidnapped, tossed out a mansion window, or almost burned alive without having some kind of nervous breakdown. She almost always worked through it, but he still worried about her. He knew that she often acted like these things didn't affect her, but he knew they did.

What he didn't understand though was what something so horrible would want with his daughter? Or why it would go after his daughter? He still hadn't fully figured out what **it** was. None of the logical explanations that popped into his head really made any sense. They were sort of contradicted by the monkey's shape shifting and speech. And what was with all this talk of demons?

* * *

Angel sat up, his blood leaving deep red stains on the pine green lawn. His side was throbbing, his head was pounding, and he didn't even have to look at his arm to see that the demon had slashed through the borrowed t-shirt and his flesh.

"Are you all right?" The dark haired girl, Lana, was standing over him awkwardly, almost as if she didn't know whether or not to help him up or look at him pathetically.

Slowly, he stood up, wincing as he did so. "Yeah. Uh, thanks."

Lana chewed her bottom lip nervously. What had the monkey meant by 'vampire'? A blood sucking, killing of the innocents monster? Somehow she doubted strongly that Angel fit any of those descriptions. He had saved her life twice already since she had met him and besides, vampires didn't exist. "Maybe you should see a doctor, that's a pretty nasty…

"I'm fine." Angel said, cutting her off before she could finish her suggestion, his eyes searching for the source of the fire that had scared the monkey off. Fire just didn't appear out of thin air. Okay. So maybe it did… sometimes, but there was always a source.

"Mr. Sullivan took Chloe to Smallville Medical Center not too long ago." Lana added, thinking that he had been looking for Chloe.

Chloe. He hoped that she had gotten treatment in time; something about the demon's tone told him that it hadn't been bluffing.

Lana turned away from the Angel, looking at the house to see if it was still unlocked. "I can give you the directions if you want. They should be-"

Her sentence hung in the air once she realized that Angel was no longer standing there. Yep, he definitely had a hero complex.

* * *

"I can't believe you guys don't see it, he's got the serious puppy love going on." Cordelia said still looking at her computer screen, waiting for a website on demon gods to load. They hadn't found anything over the three hours that they had been delving through book after book, and the coffee supply was diminishingly very rapidly.

"Cordelia… Angel is-"

"Back!" Cordelia said, quickly covering up the fact that they had been discussing the disheveled looking vampire that had walked through the hotel room's door, and killing any hope of hearing Wesley's statement.

They all watched as Angel ransacked the table looking for… something. He was covered in dried blood and cuts and his shirt was torn. "So, I'm guessing we can put all of this research stuff to rest, since you sort of threw everything onto the floor?" Cordelia paused, but continued when she didn't get a direct answer from him. "Angel, what happened? Where's Chloe?"

"Smallville Medical." Angel said, not interrupting his attempt to tear the room apart in his search to find whatever it was that he was looking for.

"Smallville Medical?" Wesley repeated, trying to recall where he had seen the name. "The hospital we passed earlier, when Cordelia made a wrong turn?"

"Hey, you're the one who said turn right."

"Look, we…" Angel said grabbing a map of Smallville from underneath Gunn's pile of books. "You guys know where the hospital is?"

"**That's** why you practically ripped the room apart?" Cordelia pointed to the map in Angel's hand accusingly. "There's like a million of them on the nightstand, or you could have just asked!"

"Oh." Angel glanced at the stack of maps on the nightstand sheepishly.

"So." Gunn said finally, walking out of the kitchen with a Coke® in one hand and a plate of nachos in the other. "Is the hospital still accepting visitors?"

* * *


	13. Chapter 12

**Title:** New Friends, Old Places

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Supergurl15

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been swamped with projects, college stuff, band stuff, etc. Sorry again. I hope you haven't lost faith in this fic. I really do plan on finishing this fic even if I'm dying on my deathbed. Anywho, there's not too much going on in this chapter. A lot of cute, adorable, "Awwww…" inspiring fluff though. Enjoy! With that said, onto the reviews! You guys are awesome!

Shellbell1012- Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying the fic!

Imzadi- Uh, I don't know how to put this but… ummm… Chloe and Lindsey were never an "item" in my story. Chloe's little speech in the diner was something like a spur of the moment… what's the word? Excuse? Yeah. Something like that. The whole reason I wrote this fic was because I noticed there weren't too many Chloe/Angel fics on (with the exception of Malana's fic _Mind vs. Heart_), or anywhere on the net really. Not only that, but I thought the whole idea of a Chloe/Angel fic would be pretty interesting. Everyone's already assuming that this fic will end up being Chloe/Angel. The pairing might **seem** pretty evident, but I'm willing to bet ten dollars and my new guitar that the ending probably won't be what some of you were expecting. As for Lindsey, he'll get his chance to shine.

Princess Lollipop- Thanks for the luck and I'll be sure to email a copy of our music to anyone that wants it, just don't expect Nirvana or anything. Uh, we're still in the mist of writing stuff and figuring out when and where to practice. Chaotic.

Isn't that so typical of Angel? Especially during season 4 when Cordelia and Angel couldn't figure out HOW they felt about each other and everyone including RANDOM strangers instantly figured it out. Yep, there's going to be some definite denial about the whole 'vampires being real' situation for a while, and then some hostility, probably followed by utter chaos.

Tehzo- Thanks! It's really helpful to know that I'm at least getting the characters, well, in character. I tried to make Lloyd as annoying as possible just so everyone would hate him. (I'm evil, I know.) Lindsey's going to pop up numerous times throughout the rest of the fic just because I think he's awesome. I mean he plays guitar **and** sings. 

Batdz Angel- Thanks for the luck! Don't worry there's more envy causing situations ahead. (Did that even make sense?) It doesn't end well for Clark… I mean, it does but then it doesn't. And I just confused myself, so I think I'm going to end this Author's Note here.

Dragonflame61- Glad to see that you're enjoying the story. Thanks for reviewing!

I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Hey," Pete called to the only two people sitting in the pasty colored hospital waiting room. It was early Wednesday morning so it was usual for the visiting crowd to be pretty slow. "Came as soon as I heard. What happened?"

"Pete, you wouldn't believe us if we told you." Lana said from her seat next to Clark. Clark and Lana had been sitting with Mr. Sullivan all night and most of that morning. Lana had only left for a little while when the painkillers that she had been given for her broken arm had begun to rub off.

"This is Smallville, I'm pretty sure I'd believe you if you told me that cows and pigs were laying eggs."

Lana and Clark looked at each other for a moment and then began retelling the previous night's events.

* * *

"Angel, are you sure you want to do this?" Wesley asked as he watched the brown and black bear land on the back seat of the Plymouth. So far there were two giant stuffed animals, a dozen white roses and another bouquet of yellow ones. "It's just barely sunrise and-"

"Balloons." Angel said, suddenly. He knew he had forgotten something. "I forgot balloons."

"I'm pretty sure she'll be happy with the million other things that you got her." Cordelia knew that Angel had a thing for Chloe; she just didn't know that he had a Buffy type thing for her. He was seriously overreacting. One bear, one bouquet of roses, that's what she had originally told him. But no, he had to buy the biggest, life-sized Scooby Doo plushie in the store and the enormous, but innocently cute, black and brown bear. It even had an adorable little bow tie, shirt cuffs, shoes, a cane, and a top hat. Which was sort of the reason why she was holding it, it was just so cute.

"Won't even think about the balloons." Gunn said nonchalantly leaning against the car.

"Yep. So we might want to go before the sun comes out in its full effect." Cordelia said sliding into the back seat, the giant bear still in her arms.

With that, everyone piled into the car and headed to the hospital.

* * *

Angel knocked quietly on the room door, waited, then knocked again. After not getting a response the second time, he pushed open the door to Chloe's hospital room. He could hear the TV blaring before he even entered the room. Angel walked over to the person lying in the first bed from the door. It wasn't Chloe.

"Oh no dear. She's the next one." A sweet, kindly, old voice said from the bed. The gray haired woman turned down the volume on her TV and eyed the flowers and bear in the man's arms with a smile on her face before speaking again.

"Sorry about that, I'm a little hard of hearing." She said clearly meaning the television. The woman noticed the other three people that had followed the man into the room. They all had the same worried look on their faces but the young man in the dark coat face was stricken with an intense, guilt-ridden look. Such was the thing with young lovers; they were so enthralled with each other that nothing else seemed to matter when something like this particular scenario happened to either of them. Looking in the young man's eyes she saw only love for the injured girl, for a moment her eyes clouded over, her mind wandering back to a time when she was young and in love.

Angel left the woman with a 'thank you' and a 'that's all right', then walked over to the next bed. "Chloe?"

He hated seeing her like this. Lying there with the blankets smothering her almost frail looking form she didn't look like Chloe. She didn't look like the girl that he had come to know over the past three years. The girl lying underneath the crisp, white hospital sheets looked so helpless, breakable and even a little lifeless. He placed the giant dog on the floor next to her bed and the flowers on the maple table.

"I'm going to stay here for a while, so if you guys wanted to…" Angel said, his forlorn gaze returning to the sleeping girl.

"We'll come back later." Dragging Wesley and Gunn out of the door before they could utter any thing that would disagree with her proposition to leave, Cordelia only came back in the room to give Angel the teddy bear that she had forgotten she was still carrying. "Besides we can research and uh, shop."

Angel heard a muttered 'bloody hell' from Wesley and a somewhat muddled 'damn' from Gunn before they all disappeared from the doorway.

Pulling up a chair next to Chloe's bedside and taking a seat, he watched her for a few moments before covering her I.V. free hand with his own, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. His eyes wandered back to her peaceful face. She was extremely pale from the loss of blood and she sported a large white bandage on her neck. A couple of other small cuts and bruises lined her face and he wondered briefly where they had come from. Angel slowly and tenderly brushed a wisp of dark blond hair from her face, leaned back in the plush recliner and waited for Chloe to awake.

"Take a picture it'll last longer." Chloe sat up slowly and somewhat painfully, then turned her head to look at the new visitor. Clark, Pete, Lana, her father had already been in her room at least six times that morning to see if she needed anything or just to try and talk to her. Needless to say she welcomed the new change.

"Hey." Her voice was quiet and hoarse from a variety of different things, and she felt like crap. She was without her make up, her hair was strewn this way and that, and she could tell without a mirror that she was deathly pale.

"Hey." Angel said softy, sympathetically. "How are you doing?"

"Besides the fact that I've got a killer head ache and a couple of leg cramps, okay." She smiled weakly at him, "What about you?"

"Good." Angel said, his attention once again drawn to the giant bear by the bed. "This is for you." He didn't understand why he was so… nervous? It didn't make any sense. In the little time that he had known her he couldn't ever remember being nervous around her.

"He's so cute." Chloe ran her fingers through the black and brown bear's fur.

"And… this one." Angel handed the other plush toy to the bedridden girl.

"Angel!" She smiled brightly, her hand reached to touch the stuffed dog's large black nose. "You didn't have to do this."

But the smile on her face told him otherwise. Just seeing her smile was like watching the first snowfall of the year in Galway with his sister when he was younger, refreshing, beautiful, and blissful in a way.

He definitely wasn't expecting her to throw her arms around him and crush him in a hug.

"Thanks." Her head was resting on his shoulder and he could feel her breath on the side of his face.

"You're welcome." Angel said softly. Trying not to focus on the lack of distance between them or the fact that her face was practically buried in his neck.

Her arms loosened and she finally released him from her bone-crushing embrace.

"And now I realize why I probably shouldn't have done that…" Chloe said with a quiet chuckle as she brought her hand to her neck, rubbing her fingers across the white gauze grimly.

_But it was definitely worth it._ She thought, remembering the feel of resting her cheek against Angel's shoulder, her nose buried in the crook of his neck. She hadn't meant to originally, he was just so… cuddly? Comforting? Since she had been brought to the hospital she found herself desperately missing her new friends, especially Angel. He was constantly on her mind twenty-four/seven. With the exception of Clark she had never thought about any guy that much before. For the sake of preserving a friendship she didn't want to believe it, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense… she was falling head over heels for her friend, a good friend, possibly best friend.

"Angel," She said, leaning in to whisper to him quietly, as to not attract the elderly woman's attention who was only a few feet away. "You do know that sun rise is at seven… which is in twenty minutes?"

"Uh, about that…" Angel turned away from the intense green eyes that were bearing down into his chocolate ones. He fiddled with the edge of the hospital blanket uneasily. "You wouldn't mind if I stayed here for a while… most of the day?"

Shaking her head slowly, Chloe smiled lightly at Angel's boyish antics.

"I have a stuffed bear in a top hat and a mystery solving Great Dane for company. Do you even have to ask?" She managed, before bringing a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn.

"When you put it like that I guess not." Getting up from the chair, Angel walked across the room to shut the curtain closest to Chloe's side of the room.

The graying woman, Ms. Johnson, hadn't seemed to notice the lack of light on her roommate's side of the room and if she did she didn't seem bothered by it. Chloe figured she was probably too engrossed in her soaps. She had never been able to understand how anyone could watch those. They were so clichéd, drawn out, and exaggerated.

The morphine that was being continuously pumped into her arm began to take effect, as she felt her eyelids slowly closing against her own will. "Angel?"

"Yeah?" Angel looked at the drowsy girl that was getting even drowsier by the minute. The green of her eyes fading as her eyelids descended over her eyes. He was a little more than surprised when he felt Chloe's smaller hand clasp his.

"Thanks for not leaving." She whispered, not relinquishing her grip on his hand.

He was speechless for a moment, astonished at Chloe's thanks. Maybe it was the medicine they were giving her, maybe he was reading too much into the innocent gesture, or maybe…

He sat back in the chair, his eyes transfixed on the sleeping girl. The single stream of light peeping through the curtained window tousled her blond hair, making her appear angelic.

Or maybe he would read the paper and let her sleep.

* * *

"Another." Lindsey pushed the empty shot glass toward the bar tender, as another glass of vodka was placed in front of him.

He was beginning to like the little town. Its friendly hospitality, courteousness, and simplicity reminded him of home. A little too much maybe. Without another thought, he downed what would be his sixth shot of vodka that night.

Lloyd had found him after confronting Angel.

Damn. He could have staked the vampire, set him on fire for all he cared, but he didn't have to hurt the girl.

* * *

"Hooray for hospital dining." Chloe said, disdain shining through her statement as she peeled the aluminum top off of the orange jello. The dietary clerk that had brought her tray smiled at the sarcastic comment before leaving the room.

"Wow." Chloe picked at the pile of less than scrumptious looking macaroni and cheese, then placed the fork back on the tray. "Suddenly my dad's cooking seems like high quality cuisine."

"It doesn't look that bad." Angel added eyeing the tray with interest.

"Angel, you were born during a time when crap like this didn't exist yet." Chloe pushed the food even farther from the bed. "Hell, you were born during a time when hospitals didn't exist yet."

"Funny. Very funny."

Angel glanced at the clock above the window. It was almost five o'clock. That meant that he had an hour or so until sunset. Cordy, Gunn, and Wes would be back soon.

"What can I say?"

Angel smiled lightly at Chloe's comment.

"Angel," Meeting his gaze Chloe clutched the teddy bear in her only good arm. "I really appreciate this but you CAN leave you know."

Chloe instantly wished she could have taken back the last five words that came out of her mouth the moment she saw the pained and confused look on Angel's face.

"No! No. That's not what I meant." Without meaning to Chloe chuckled, "I meant that's it's late and I thought that you might have been hungry. So I was just trying to suggest that you should go out and get something to eat."

"Did someone mention eating?" Cordelia, Gunn and Wesley stood at the edge of Chloe's bed, a tightly tied bag with a yellow smiley face on the front.

"Thank God." Chloe instantly began delving through the bag, her senses already confirming her suspicions as she removing a white Styrofoam box. "Two more minutes of having to even think about eating that food and you guys would be attending my funeral." In a less sarcastic voice she added, "I love you guys."

"If you're going to throw all that away let me at least get the jello cup." Gunn said, eyeing the orange jello on the makeshift table.

"Sure, knock yourself out. It's the only edible thing on the entire tray." Chloe handed the small orange cup to Gunn, happy to be rid of the dreaded hospital tray.

"Here." Cordelia removed the other white bag from her arm handing it to Angel. "I thought you might be starving."

"What would we do without you guys?" Chloe carefully opened the carton of Chinese food, a smile illuminating her face.

* * *

Pete sat back in the blue plush hospital chair. His face still held the same blank expression that he had sported while listening to Clark and Lana retell the events of the previous night. 

"A monkey?"

"A really large, talking monkey." Lana added, confirming Pete's question.

For some reason the predicament didn't strike Pete as "strange", he had the town of Smallville to thank for that. But a giant talking monkey man? That was a little odd even for Smallville's standards; he was willing to bet that the primate/human mutation probably wasn't the effect of a Kryptonite infestation. No. The situation seemed a little more than the usual Scooby Doo/Veronica Mars mystery driven by the effects of the cursed meteor rocks.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were little green rocks tied into the sudden rise of the monkey king." Pete whispered, not to be overheard and labled insane by any noisy passerbys. "But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if the Luthor name was somehow attached to this either."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Chloe." Grinning widely, Lana added "How is Chloe?"

Clark's drifting gaze eventually found its way to Chloe's closed hospital door. Closed? Normally the doors in the hospital were left open for patients without visitors. He couldn't recall seeing a nurse or a doctor enter the room and both patients were too immobilized to close the door themselves. His face remained calm but the warning bells were sounding in the back of his mind. Would the ape man be so bold as to go after Chloe in the middle of the day? _Yes._

"Clark?" There was a slight tap to his shoulder, finally looking away from the rather ugly lavender colored door Clark noticed Lana's baffled stare. "We were going to go check on Chloe."

Clark nodded his agreement before following Lana and Pete across the hall to Chloe's door. His eyebrows raised in confusion when he heard a chorus of laughs coming from the room. Slowly and quietly Lana pushed open the heavy steel door.

* * *

"Probably shrivel up and die." Cordelia's fingers reached out to touch the velvety red of the roses' petals. "I mean, more than two days on THAT food…!"

Chloe snickered a little, then knitted her eyebrows together, her eyes centered on the three people standing in her doorway. She was momentarily happy that Ms. Johnson had left the room for more tests and exams a little after Angel had arrived. She wouldn't have wanted to disturb the sweet, old woman any more than she had to.

"Hey." Plastering a smile to her face, Chloe cheerfully waved at Lana, Pete, and Clark. She remained smiling even though she wanted to scream and yell for them to get out. Not even Pete would be exempt from her brewing rage, not after he had purposefully betrayed her. "Lana, Clark and Pete…" She gestured to each group as she said their names, "Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, and Angel." 

Only Angel could see the faux smile slip from her face, her friendly, sunny expression unnoticeably becoming glum and desperate before she pulled on the mask once more. He felt his heart drop with just that one barely visible expression.

Pushing aside the taunting whispers telling her just to tell them off and be done with it she waved them over to her bedside. She hoped that keeping up her current front wouldn't be too… difficult.

* * *


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** There's nothing worse than the end of the year.

Imzadi- Yep. Lindsey might just so happen to be in this chapter actually. Who knows? I'm an angst lover, so of course I can't leave Lindsey out of the loop. Especially since… :clamps mouth shut: Oops. :looks away from the computer screen: Ooo! My Chemical Romance is on MTV!

Princess Lollipop- lol. I needed a good, funny review I especially loved your Smallville High Graduation speech. God, these kids are going to be so messed up when they finally DO get out of Smallville. I mean, just look at them now!

Tehzo- I love angst. It's probably close to the only type of fan fiction/fiction I read. (Well, not really. But angst is 90 of my novel collection.) 

Susire- Chloe just so happens to be one of my favorite characters. (As you probably already knew.) I'm happy to know that I'm drawing people into the show… one soul at a time. Lol.

BeerGamesHideout- Thanks! It's always comforting to know that your story is kick ass! Awesome!

Euley- Thanks, you rock!

I own nothing... only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Well, it was nice meeting you all." Lana said, looking carefully at the four new people in her friend's room. "Uh we didn't know that you had company, Chloe."

Chloe attemped to smile cheefully, which after some effort ended up a half-hearted smirk of some sort. She nodded dolefully. "Yeah."

"We should be…" Lana trailed off looking to the door.

"Oh please." Cordelia waved a hand, abruptly dismissing the girl's statement. "Don't leave on our account."

Chloe instantly dropped her head again, her eyes widening at Cordelia's unexpected invite.

Frowing at Chloe's suspicious behavior, Cordelia continued twirling a rose stem between her fingers. "Unless you WANT to leave, then I won't stop you."

Laughingly Lana scrunched her nose up in amusement. She shook her head once again indicating that her mind was aleady made up. Besides, it wasn't as if Chloe wanted to speak to any of them anyway. Even when the little trio of friends had entered the cramped hospital room earlier that morning, Chloe had either been visting with other people, asleep, or out of her room for more tests.

When they had finally managed to speak to her sometime during the mayhem of the hospital day she seemed… insincere. Her side of the conversation was full of ephemeral answers and phrases. Lana could only wonder what had caused the unwelcomed change.

"We'll just talk to you later Chlo." Turning on her heel to leave Lana walked out of the door with Pete and Clark following close behind her.

"Yeah, later…" Chloe said a bit distractedly, as she watched Lana, Pete, and Clark leaving her multicolored room.

"Wow." Cordelia's was the first voice to break the uncomfortable silence once Chloe's friends had left. _What was that anyway? They walk into the room and act like acquaintances, people who barely know each other than old friends. _"Intense."

Chloe mutely smiled before commenting how tired she was. In actualitly she didn't want to talk about what had happened between her and her "friends".

"Well, guess that's our cue." Gathering the empty styrofoam packaging, Cordelia enveloped the bed riddened girl in a hug one last time before leaving. Wesley, Gunn, and Angel followed her example.

"You're getting soft in your old age." Chloe chuckled, commenting jokingly once Angel wrapped her in a hug.

Angel smirked warmly before pulling away, a little nervoulsy. "If you need anything…"

Rolling her eyes, Chloe smiled slightly at the anxious vampire. "Don't worry dad." She said with an edge of five year old assurance. "It's only a sleepover."

To which she acquired a 'look'.

"Okay. Okay." Holding the palms of her hands outward, she quickly waved off another irritated 'look'. "Sorry."

Angel reached to embrace her once more before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

Chloe couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief now that everyone had gone. She had been almost elated that Angel, Gunn, Wesley, and Cordelia had dropped by to visit. But when Lana, Clark, and Pete popped in, she was afraid that the nurse would practically fly in the room because her heart rate had sped up so quickly.

Resting her head against the blindingly white complimentary hospital pillow, Chloe wiped a hand over weary eyes.

What had driven her to this point?

To dread every glimpse of her Smallvillian friends?

Sure, they had mistrusted her, treated her like she was some kind of steadfast journalist who cared more about writing an exposé on her friends than keeping their secrets. But was that the extend of it, or could the dilema have something to do with Clark and Lana's budding relationship behind her back?

She hated hurting them. Despite how she felt, she truly regretted hurting her former friends. Her heart had been stomped on, wounded, and crushed enough times to know what true pain felt like. Wishing that kind of torment on someone wouldn't solve or prove anything.

Sighing, Chloe shut her eyes, refusing to let the painful memories spring white hot tears from her already tearing eyes. Maybe they once had that effect on her, but not now.

No.

Not now.

At least that's what she told herself as she let the dreary medicine lull her softly to sleep.

* * *

Chloe awoke an hour later to a loud, throaty, rasping cough. 

Ms. Johnson was back.

The stout, wrinkled woman was suffering from a punctured lung, and a few broken ribs, apparently acquired during a horseback ride a few weeks ago. The friendly yet verbose woman had told Chloe that she had been on her daily hike through the wilds of her property with her Palomino mare, Daisy, when a large, ugly tan bear jumped out of the woods and attacked them.

Ms. Johnson had been utterly upset by the bear attack, or, at least at what she thought had been a bear attack. But Kansas generally didn't have any bears other than the ones in the state zoo. It wasn't like Grizzlies were part of the day to day wildlife population along with the squirrels and coyotes, and after the elderly woman had tried to recollect the creature's appearance, Chloe concluded that it hadn't been a bear at all.

Ms. Johnson's bear sounded more like their newly acquainted monkey friend more than anything else.

What he had been doing in the woods, Chloe could only guess.

Despite the circumstances, Ms. Johnson had turned out to be a wonderful roommate, always lending her advice and input to anyone who would listen.

"Ms. Johnson?" Guardedly and very cautiously, Chloe inched somewhat painfully out of her hospital bed. "Did you need anything? Water maybe?"

The old woman grinned after blotting her mouth with a nearby Kleenex on the nightstand. "Gracious. Not you too."

Ms. Johnson continued to wipe at her mouth desperately, though there was nothing visible.

"I heard you coughing…" Chloe supplemented, gazing at the woman worriedly.

"I'm fine dear." The Kleenex was placed almost tenderly in a nearby trashcan. "But what about you?"

Chloe merely looked baffled at Ms. Johnson's accusation. How had she…? Were her feelings sprawled on her face that clearly?

You look like you just lost your best friend or your beloved puppy."

"I-" Chloe briefly closed her eyes then reopened them suddenly, focusing on the crème tiled floor. "It's that obvious?"

Looking at her roommate sullenly, the old woman nodded.

"I… guess. I've… just been a little preoccupied lately." Chloe said, avoiding Ms. Johnson's scrutinizing gaze. The old woman had an almost clairvoyant way of reading other people's emotions. Just the other day she had been able to tell that Lily, on of the nurses on staff that was currently assigned to their floor, was leaving Smallville for Granville solely based on light conversation.

"This wouldn't have to do with your friend that was here earlier, would it?" Ms. Johnson smiled at the young woman knowingly. "He reminds me of someone I used to know, way back when."

Chloe rose an eyebrow skeptically. She wasn't doubting her optimistic roommate. Angel was a vampire, a very old vampire. He very well might have been whomever it was that he reminded Ms. Johnson of, but if was better if she didn't know that.

"Well, not really know, per say. More like… met once."

Chloe nodded slowly. Sometimes the woman would unexpectedly break a conversation with a story. They normally consisted of events that occurred during her past, when she was at the 'peak of her prime' and certainly more of a 'wild card' than she was now.

Not that Chloe particularly minded the waylaid, reminiscent tales. In fact she loved listening to the stories about the 'good ol' days', when admission to the movie theater was only a nickel and hamburgers were only a dime.

She didn't even mind it when Angel would occasionally break out into a story. She acted like it pained her to sit there and listen to little snippets about his past life, which he barely talked about anyway, but she secretly loved hearing about the vampire's happy-go-lucky, vagabond life in 18th century.

By the end of the story she was either sore from laughing too hard (something that her current doctor had said she shouldn't do too much of), or near tears of empathy.

"It was on one of those nights 'out on the town'. John and I- I think that was his name. I wasn't really paying attention to him that much. John was always a bit of a stickler for rules, and little boring around the edges."

This earned a small chuckle from her audience as Ms. Johnson continued.

"He was a nice man, don't get me wrong. He just didn't know how to have fun. Always about his job and his money. The man was a workaholic with no common sense, and he had the nerve to ask why I wanted to stop seeing him after a month rolled by."

Pausing to take a sip of water, Ms. Johnson hastily began retelling her tale.

"Anyway, John and I were out on the town, going to see a film and I don't know what possessed me to, but I brought Prissy, my Pomeranian, God bless her little soul.

I turned my back for a moment, and Prissy had run into the street and in the path of a speeding car. Luckily a man, I never did get his name, grabbed Prissy out of harm's way. I tried thanking him, but he was exceptionally rude." She said with a huff, and a sigh. "Men! You'd think he'd at least want some thanks or compensation after than… the insolence of that man! But I couldn't be too upset with him, not after he had rescued Prissy."

Silent, a pensive expression just barely visible on her face, Chloe thought about just how similar Ms. Johnson's story seemed to a "good ol' days" story Angel had told her during a conversation one night where she was working overtime on a case that should have belonged on her high school Wall of Weird.

"Oh. Listen to me, jabbering on." Ms. Johnson took another sip of water from the gloss by her bedside before setting it down. "Now what was the problem?"

"Ms. Johnson," Chloe negated, smiling to emphasis her point. "I'm fine… really."

"You wouldn't need a psychologist to tell you that there's something unsettling you."

Sighing, Chloe slumped back even further into the stiff straight-backed chair. She shifted almost uncomfortably in the hospital's mediocre excuse for "quality" comfort.

"You know, you'll feel **a lot** better once you tell him how you feel."

Green eyes widened enough to be the size of dinner plates, not only was she utterly baffled as to who her normally reserved roomie referred to, but to the fact that she had even suggested what she had, and so… tactlessly?

"I… I-I." Chloe stammered, her mouth forming an 'o' as she babbled like a fish gasping desperately for oxygen. "You mean… Angel?"

"So. That was his name…" The elderly woman must have really thought herself sneaky, a wide, noticeable grin spreading across her aged, and weather features. She appeared to be in thought, but it was her telltale smirk that gave her away.

"We're just friends…" The younger woman's words were hurried, her eyes roaming the other woman's face suspiciously.

_What is she getting at?_

"So is that what you kids are calling it these days?" Ms. Johnson smiled at her younger companion, relishing in her roommate's nervous fidgeting. Kids today. They were so occult-like in following their favorite teen dramas that they always complicated matters of the heart when they need not be. It was as plain as the nose on Rudolph's face. She could clearly see that the younger man was hopelessly in love with the girl, and it was painfully obvious that Chloe felt the same way for him.

"Mrs. Johnson, there's nothing-. Like I said before, we're just friends." Rising slowly from the chair, Chloe half hobbled, half walked back to the unseemly lumpy bed, flopping down on it exhaustedly. "Just friends."

She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure Mrs. Johnson or herself with her repeated statement. She couldn't deny the fact that she did often find herself thinking about the spiky haired vampire more than she should at times. When Angel had left L.A. a while back to visit Buffy in Sunnydale, she found herself missing the smell of hair gel that had become a habitual practice in the mornings, the ominous and pain ridden look in his beautiful brown eyes when something really upset him, the familiar beep of the microwave when she walked into the office that morning, his characteristic wit and humor, and spontaneous nature. She just missed… him.

Was Buffy blind? Stupid? Angel's alter ego was a vengeance seeking, sadist, that rampaged the hellish little town of Sunnydale, almost killed of the blond slayer's, Buffy, friends, and almost sucked the world into hell, but Chloe still didn't understand why the whole subject of Buffy and Angel was 'past tense', as Cordelia often referred to the couple's once budding romance, Angel hadn't really done any of those things.

Chloe sighed, leaning back against the metal headboard. She closed her eyes tightly, her mind a jumbled mix of emotions as she succumbed to a dream filled and blissless sleep.

* * *

The heavy door creaked open disturbing the quiet slumber of the inhabitants behind it. 

Turning over in her sleep, Chloe's eyelids fluttered open at a conversation Ms. Johnson was having with someone else in their room.

"Aren't you just a sweet young man?"

_Who is she talking to? _Sitting up higher on the bed, Chloe listened intensively for a few moments.

_Whoever it is either has a problem keeping track of time or is just painfully inconsiderate. _Yawning profoundly then stretching, Chloe glanced at the clock on her nightstand. The red letters on the LCD screen flashed 9:45.

Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, Chloe stood up slowly and carefully, trying to avoid doing further damage to her already aching neck.

A short, amused laughed shattered the silence that followed Ms. Johnson's compliment.

_Wait. That voice sounds… oddly… familiar?_

Sauntering over to the face bowl and turning on the hot and cold faucets, Chloe splashed the lukewarm water over her face, an excuse to see who the visitor was without appearing nosy.

"So, you are awake?" Ms. Johnson shifted in her bed, attempting the impossible, trying to retain comfort in a hospital bed. "You have a visitor."

Chloe's eyes drifted from the elderly woman sitting helplessly on the bed and the brunette with his back to her.

Somehow, the man looked strangely familiar to her for some reason, but it wasn't until he turned around that she recognized his face.

"Lindsey?"

"Ms. Sullivan."

She knew this trip wouldn't turn out to be just a relaxing vacation when she had left Los Angeles, she only wished she had figured that important little observation out before now. Maybe she wouldn't even have been in a hospital room watching Lindsey McDonald present her with a bouquet of flowers.

* * *


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** Sorry it's taking me so long to update and finish this. I've had a bad case of writer's block lately, and of course it's effecting how often I post chapters for this fic. :sighs: My sincerest apologies for the delay.

I own nothing... only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in _italics_.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"Lindsey…" Chloe could only stare at said lawyer, a baffled expression on her face that spread all the way to her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

She accepted the bouquet from his outstretched hand, eyeing it wearily.

"Um… Lindsey." She gawked at the floral arrangement of pansies, daises, marigolds, and other springtime beauties before looking intently at his face. Her features betrayed a look of pure bafflement. "I'm flattered… but confused. Very confused."

"Chloe." Lindsey looked from Ms. Johnson to Chloe and finally let his gaze fall on Chloe's amused face. "I felt horrible about what happened the other day, and-"

"You!" As if interrupting the lawyer wasn't bad enough, the fact that she scoffed and grinned almost mockingly was even worse. "You actually felt remorse for something that you're done? And here I thought the egotistical, immoral mind of bad assed lawyer Lindsey McDonald didn't have words like remorse in its vocabulary."

Another chuckle and Chloe placed the flowers nest to the bouquet Angel had brought earlier that day. "But seriously… why are you here?"

"Chloe…" Lindsey couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly.

Chloe began pacing the small room hurriedly, despite the surgeon's recommendation of limited moment, speech, and laughter. Especially the laughter, she had found that out the hard way. "What exactly are you trying to pull?"

An observer of the events transpiring before her and a little peeved at the bickering between the two adults, Ms. Johnson felt it the right moment to interfere. "Before you awoke we had a nice little discussion and your friend is in fact telling you the truth."

"Ms. Johnson." Chloe said with a sigh flopping down on the stark, white hospital bed. "Lindsey… is… I just can't…" She sighed again and added softly. "Fine."

"I shouldn't have… overreacted… like I did." Lindsey wasn't the only one who noticed that the words seemed forced, and Ms. Johnson began to wonder if Chloe was simply apologizing to 'shut her up'. "I mean, who knows the roads of redemption better than I do, right?"

Or was she?

He just didn't understand her. Not at all. She was unpredictable and random at best, a trait often gave her boss the advantage when dealing with Wolfram and Hart.

"Now that you two have worked that out…" Ms. Johnson smiled widely and refocused her attention on the TV. "Desperate Housewives is on."

"I really never meant for you to get hurt." It was moments like these where Lindsey reminded Chloe a lot of Lex. The fearless way he faced his problems head on without hesitation, and there was that way that he always looked directly into a person's eyes when he spoke to them. Luckily neither had ever managed to intimidate her.

"I'll bet." Chloe muttered under her breath. Lindsey apologizing was just a bit too odd. Sighing once more, she smiled almost warmly. "Thanks. That was extremely thoughtful of you."

Lindsey grinned and Chloe smiled a little at the gesture. Standing and gathering his coat, Lindsey turned to leave.

"I hope you know that this doesn't change anything." Chloe said seeing him walk towards the door.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Watching him, she realized that maybe, just maybe, she didn't know Wolfram and Hart's finest as well as she thought.

* * *

"Angel! That's the fifth balloon you've brought home after five different trips to the party store… in the same day!"

"Chloe likes balloons." Angel said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world as he finished tying the balloons together, placing them on a decorative weight. "Done. That was easy."

Gunn and Wesley had decided to investigate around town a little more, find out what the locals knew about the demon. Cordelia and Angel had stayed behind with research, and it was the same old, same old… they were about as close to finding information about the demon as they had been about a day ago. The case didn't have many leads and the ones that they did have had been cold trails.

Cordelia shook her head and returned to glancing through the little information that they had collected. A small, tattered burgundy book at the edge of the table caught her attention. Why hadn't they seen it before?

"Angel…" Cordeila huffed. "Why don't you just admit that you have a problem?"

"Problem?"

"The balloons, the flowers, the bears…" Cordelia said with her usual bluntness. "… the phone calls every two hours!"

She continued with a slight roll of her eyes. "You care about Chloe… we get it. Now tell her that."

"Cordelia… what…?"

"Angel, c'mon." She said with a bit of irritation in her voice at his seeming confusion as she picked up the book from the edge of the table and flipped through it slowly. "You know it. I know it. We all know it. Just tell her already! You two are driving me insane with the puppy dog eyes, and the brood fests, and the unrequited love act!"

Angel looked baffled for a moment. How had Cordelia…? Was he really acting that obvious about his feelings for Chloe? Sure he had bought her a few… things, but that was only because she had been injured and in the hospital. Not because…

"Bingo." Cordelia's unexpected rout of the silence in the stuff hotel room momentarily broke Angel from his thoughts. "For people with limited technology those seventh century monks were pretty gun-ho with the details."

The book was pushed over to where Angel sat across the table, Cordelia's finger pointing to a certain section of the text.

"It says we need a spell." Cordelia said watching Angel read over the page. "More or less Wes' department but I'm pretty sure we can get the stuff here."

"Dragon's scales?" Angel said questioning the book's listed ingredients.

"I'm pretty sure we could substitute that for… something… else." Cordeila added, apparently forgetting the speech she had given Angel a few minutes prior. "It's kinda like baking a cake right? You may not have any sugar in the house but a few cups of Irish crème coffee creamer makes the cake even better!"

Angel raised an eyebrow in her general direction, silently questioning her reasoning.

"Oh, like you've never ran out of sugar before."

* * *

Lloyd tapped his fingers impatiently against the lacquered oak of the bar counter. He took another swig of the favored human beverage.

What was wrong with him that he couldn't defeat a mere vampire and a few humans?

He stared at his hand reflexively, flexing it in the dim light of the almost unoccupied bar.

It should not have been that easy for the half breed and the humans to discover that an arrow through the heart would paralyze him.

No. Even some of the greatest warriors had not been able to figure that out and had paid the price for it.

He would have to think of something and soon.

He swirled the amber liquid around in the glass, wistfully taking another sip. A wide, malevolence grin overcame his face and he chuckled to himself quietly.

The vampire.

The ensouled one.

His smile widened, as he set the glass down harshly.

Not for long.


End file.
